Broken Angel: Rising Demon
by I LIKE FEAR 1-2
Summary: The Age of Man, is over. The Age of Magic, is about to begin. A Demon stands upon the Earth. A beast, named goddess by right of passing. Darkness settles upon the Earth, will this goddess usher in a golden age for humanity? Or will she cast them aside to drown in their own sins? Behold the rise of the demon, and the Kingdom of Albion. (Sequel to Broken Angel)
1. 1: Opening Days

_**Alright, you all ready for this, I most certainly am. Coming off the heels of the first story I've ever completed, this is the sequel to Broken Angel, Rising Demon. I hope you all enjoy this opening because we're gonna get straight into this. There is going to be a large number of crossovers as I build this world up, but I'm gonna keep it as a Harry Potter/Naruto crossover, as those are the primary base elements to it. Let me know if you think I should change it up any.**_

_**Time will also play a crucial role in this story so I'll do my best to keep track of when and where we are so that everyone can easily tell. This first chapters going to cover a bunch of exposition and hopefully serve as a simple starting point to get everyone around the same page. unlike with broken angel, this story isn't going to wait until chapter 20 or so to reach the real meat of the actual conflict. The first two chapters will be exposition, but the third is where the story officially starts, so please be patient and I hope everyone enjoys.**_

_**Just for those who don't know, MC is Riley, she's a fusion of Harry Potter and Naruto Uzumaki.**_

_**Pairings for Riley include:**_

_**Fleur Delacour**_

_**Katie Bell**_

_**Daphne Greengrass**_

_**Luna Lovegood**_

_**Lucy(Kaede)**_

_**FemGaara (Gaia)**_

_**Arturia Pendragon**_

_**Yugito Nii**_

_**I own nothing, all credit goes to the original authors. **_

_**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**_

Prologue

It began with a child stolen from his home, as it burned to ash. This child was Arashi Uzumaki Uchiwa. Later to be named Minato Namikaze, otherwise known as the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure.

When history looked back on how it all started, it would be the name of his kidnapper that would ring out throughout the annuls of history. This woman, Mito Uzumaki, would become known as the perpetrator for the rise of Darkness and the End of the Age of Man.

The kidnapping of Minato Namikaze and the erasure of his past, had set the field for the rise of a demon. A beast of unimaginable power. This beast came into the world as his child, a daughter mothered by another woman, stolen, and implanted into the womb of his wife to hide his mistake. That had been the first sin, one that would ignite the demon's fury in the years to come. That Child was born Narumi Namikaze, alongside a twin sister, Minato's trueborn child, Naruko Namikaze. On the day of their births, the student of the Fourth Hokage, Obito Uchiha, in an alliance with Mito Uzumaki, stole the Nine-Tailed Fox from it's temple and unleashed the greatest of the Bijuu onto the Hidden Leaf Village.

With the aid of the Sannin, and the Third Hokage, Minato was able to defeat the beast and seal it away into the bodies of his daughters. The power into Naruko, and the spirit into Narumi.

That event had been the major catalyst for the ruination of the Age of Man. For the sealing of the Fox Spirit, opened the doorway to something far worse, and far more powerful.

On that same day, in an attempt to destroy Minato for good, a third ally, a Dark Lord from a distant land, attempted to murder the children and free the Nine-Tails. His attempt would have been successful, had it not been for the raw power that the elder child possessed. In an act of self-preservation and accidental magic, Narumi was able to rebound the Dark Lord's curse back onto him, destroying his body and sending his soul, scattering to the winds.

The credit for this accident, fell to her twin, and that marked the second sin, that would see the mighty child scorned and forgotten by her people.

For nearly eight years, Narumi suffered. For nearly eight years she fought with every fiber of her being, in order to survive and gain her parents affections. This child, who should have had it all, was instead, cast away, and resented for her abilities. Her family ignored her, her people, reviled her. She was all alone. Her only comfort came from a voice that accompanied her thoughts, ever since her birth. This voice belonged to the spirit of her Grandfather, Madara Uchiwa. Part of his chakra having been sealed into Minato, and then later passed onto her when the Nine-Tails was sealed into her body.

With Madara's aid, and wisdom, Narumi survived, and grew stronger.

At almost eight years old, the child finally had enough and cast her family and village aside. Instead of facing further loneliness, the child grew in strength. In her time away, she began making friends, and of those friends that she made in the Leaf Village, none did she love so much, or hold on a higher pedestal then the one she saw as a brother, Shisui Uchiha.

Her love for the man, and her despair when he passed away so soon into their time together, led Narumi to awakening the **Mangekyou Sharingan.** With the aid of her grandfather, this child obtained the **Eternal Mangekyou, **and mastered it's powers. Shisui's death, had caused great pain in the young girl, very nearly driving her to murder those she thought were responsible.

In the end, no matter what the truth was, Narumi had, had enough. The death of Shisui, had been the final nail in the coffin and the child would have no more it. She refused to suffer within the Hidden Leaf any longer, and with the companionship of a family friend, young Narumi set out into the world, intent on making something for herself.

The first thing she did upon leaving was change her name, freeing herself from the title of Namikaze, and from the name, Minato and Lily had bestowed upon her, at her birth. From that day forward she was known as Riley. Riley Narumi Slytherin Uchiwa.

The years that followed were infinitely brighter. With each passing day, the lonely child gained more friends and felt her heart swell as she sought out those to stave off her sadness.

Riley refused to allow herself to be constrained by society, or by basic human morals. She loved whomever she pleased, she befriended whomever she pleased, and most importantly, she did whatever she wanted. The young genius utilized her mind to escape trouble, while doing what she thought as necessary to make the world a safer place for her loved ones.

She trained every single day, learning the arts of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Sage Arts, whatever abilities or techniques existed out in the world, Riley sought to learn them, all to make herself stronger and prove to herself that she was better then her father, better then her home village.

One day, at a chance meeting with the Nine-Tails, she learned the truth about her incredible strength. Riley was a half-demon. Slowly but surely she was absorbing the spirit of the Fox and if given enough time, she'd fully consume it, becoming a full blooded demon in the process.

Striking a deal with the ancient beast, Riley chose to forgo her humanity and become a full demon. She freed the fox from it's prison and turned her body into the temple where it could reside in peace. In repayment for her kindness, the Fox showed her how to become a full demon. And not just any demon, an Archdemon, a beast, equal to the Fox in power.

Riley's true ascension began there. With the powers of an Archdemon, and the newly awakened **Rinne Sharingan** Riley quickly ascended into the realm of the gods in terms of pure power, and around the same point in her life, Riley developed her dream.

Seeing the world, and the human race for what they were, flawed, ruthless, and wretched, Riley made the choice to build her own paradise, away from it all. Riley intended to build a place where her loved ones would be free to build their own happiness, away from the chaos of the Earth, away from the wretches of society.

Riley dreamed of a utopia, where her loved ones could be happy.

And with burning ambition, Riley set out to accomplish that goal. Despite not knowing where to start, Riley knew in her heart that the best way to achieve her dream was to further her already vast repertoire of skill, and increase her knowledge of magic. And that is exactly what she did. Day in, and day out, she trained. Using her own pocket dimension, and her newfound immortality, she began to train for week, months at a time. Every single day.

Eventually she came to learn the truth about her grandmother, and how she was actually the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths, Kaguya Ootsutsuki, the Rabbit Goddess.

Not long after, while avenging the death of Shisui Uchiha, Riley learned of her real mother, and she immediately set out to free her mother from the clutches of the Hidden Leaf.

Through her reunion with Kushina Uzumaki, Riley gained a new friend in spirit form, in the shape of her Great-Grandfather, Hashirama Senju. Hashirama joined Madara and the Nine-Tailed Fox Kurama as her guides and closest confidantes.

One day, the Leaf made a choice, one that would signify the beginning of the end. Utilizing unspeakable means, they turned on the beloved second child, Naruko Namikaze, and began to use her as a stud to breed the Uchiwa genetics that lay within her. It was their hope that they could create an army of people, born with the power of the **Rinnegan**.

Riley, upon learning of this, assaulted the Hidden Leaf and freed her sister, thus allowing the sisters to begin healing from their childhood of fighting.

One day, the Leaf's paranoia and viciousness grew to be too much, and their actions led to friends and the family of her beloved mates, to be harmed, one even lost her life due to the Leaf.

Enraged, and with violence in her heart, Riley destroyed her place of birth, and ended the life of the father that had seen fit to abandon her.

The fall of the Hidden Leaf, marked the beginning of the Akatsuki's movements. The organization of S-Ranked criminals began to hunt down the Bijuu.

Eventually, Riley was drawn back to the Elemental Nations where she aided her friend and future lover, Gaia no Sabaku in winning the Fourth Great Ninja War and destroying the Akatsuki, in the process.

The battles fought there, would be forever remembered by those that took part in them. In those battles, Riley unleashed the terror and horror of her true self. Her allies, frothed and fought like demons, cementing their status as bloodthirsty warriors and earning their place by the demoness's side.

With most of their foes defeated, the last of the Akatsuki, initiated their final plan. In alliance with an Archdevil, Mito Uzumaki, Obito Uchiha, and an army of reanimated souls, unleashed a horde of demons and devils upon the Elemental Nations.

With great skill and power, Riley and her allies defeated the invading hordes, and she was even able to return some old friends back from the dead.

The final act of the War, saw Obito and Mito killed for their treachery, though before they fell, they succeeded in reviving the Ten-Tails. The primordial god of the Earth, that had once been the Shinju Tree, had fused with the Rabbit Goddess to create said beast, and it was due to the actions of Riley and her allies that the beast was sealed away within Riley's body, marking her as it's second Jinchuriki.

With the war over, and the Akatsuki beaten, only questions remained. What had Mito Uzumaki truly been after? Where were the missing Akatsuki members that had survived the organizations destruction? Who was the mysterious devil that had aided Obito in Mito, in their final assault on the Earth? All of these questions hung in the air, but there was no time left for them.

The war was over, and our heroes returned home. Now… a year later, Riley has finished her schooling and sets forth into the world, with not set path, and no constraints. With the power to annihilate entire planets with ease, the world now faced the rise of a new Goddess. Unlike the last, this God was a demon, one of unspeakable power, and unyielding wrath. A god who dreamed of paradise, and of protecting those that she loved.

The rebirth of the Juubi had marked the beginning of the End for the Age of Mankind. Now, we see the final days of that age, and the dawn of the Second Age of Magic.

_**Chapter 1: Dawn of a New Age**_

**July 15th 1998**

The end of the twentieth century was fast approaching. The closing years of this time, had brought many a great curiosities into the world. Many of the faithful claimed that the actions of the Angel of Carnage provided proof of the existence of a higher power. The final battle of the Fourth Great Ninja War, had caused massive reverberations throughout the world. The magic unleashed in that battle, caused hurricanes, and earthquakes. Strange special distortions and the appearance of the Aurora Borealis in places it should have never been seen.

Everyone knew that something was going on. Every muggle on the planet had felt the final battle between Riley and the Ten-Tails, and on an instinctual level, they knew that the fate of their very existence had hindered on that battle. And yet... no one knew that it happened. The only people that had any idea what was happening with the world, was the magical community. Only those tied to the ICW had any way of learning what had happened in the Elemental Nations in 1997. To those that did know, they could only breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the danger had come and passed. But some saw the actions perpetrated in that war, as a sign. A sign that soon, very soon, the Age of secrecy would come to an end. The Muggles were scrambling to explain the events of that final battle. A battle, as part of a war, that they knew nothing about.

One day, they'd learn the truth. One day the conspiracy theorists and the world governments would know what happened that sunny spring day in 1997, and they'd tremble at the implications.

**-Riley's home, London-**

Riley leaned against the sill of her bedroom window. Her eyes stared down across the open field towards the glowing lights of London, that lit up the night sky just a few miles off. Riley's gaze held on nothing in particular, drifting here and there. Her mind was absent most thoughts, as she simply took in the peacefulness of it all.

Like a form of meditation to calm herself after a busy day, Riley allowed the distant sounds of London, coupled with the quiet sounds of nature around her house to form a beautiful melody that when united with the gentle snoring and the beating hearts of her mates, filled Riley with contentedness.

After a few seconds, Riley shifted her gaze back into her bedroom. The room itself was quite large, much larger on the inside then what the outside would have you believe. Magic was an incredible thing. It allowed for this large open room, with space enough for it's six inhabitants to live peacefully with one another. Even the bed was surprisingly wide and large enough to allow all six women to sleep comfortably amongst each other, without taking up too much room in the bedroom itself.

Riley's eyes drifted over the slumbering forms of her mates. Each one, in their own comfortable position to sleep peacefully. Amongst the group, a clone of Riley, lay beneath two of them, a comfortable pillow for Daphne, and Luna. The only one not present was Gaia, though that was because she was currently awake and busy running her Hidden Village on the opposite side of the planet. The only other person whom may find themselves in Riley's bed would have been the illustrious Arturia Pendragon, whom she was currently in the process of 'dating' if it could be called that.

Their relationship hadn't become overly physical, even if the two were openly together. Riley had been able to distract herself from the slow progress of their relationship by going to school and enjoying her final year at Hogwarts, but now that it was over, she was spending more time with Arturia and was beginning to wonder when she should start pressing the ancient king for something more physical.

Riley was patient and understanding, but she wasn't above admitting that she wanted to get the old knight into bed sooner rather then later.

Riley shook her head as she focused her thoughts back onto her sleeping mates. Despite their slumbering state, Riley knew them all well enough to know that they'd pick up on her absence from bed mere moments after she departed. This was for the best, allowing them to enjoy the comfort of a restful night.

Riley loved sleeping with them, but she also found it distracting. Despite how much she loved them all, the dreams of humans, demons, and Veela, could be quite strange at times, and feeling two or three of them going on at once, gave Riley a headache. Just another change that Riley was slowly getting used to since absorbing the Ten-Tails, and achieving the full rank of an Archdemon.

A cool breeze touched at the demoness's cheek, and she let out a content sigh of pleasure.

Riley turned her gaze back outside and lifted her eyes up to the moon. A full moon hung in the sky that night, filling the night with a dim glow. A moment passed as she pondered whether anyone she knew was looking up at this very same moon at this very same moment.

A gentle smile touched at her lips as she heard the rustling of cloth. She held the smile as the one who caused it, crawled out of bed and made their way over to her.

It was an active effort to keep from determining which of her mates it was. Smell, the weight of their steps, the way they took steps, even their emotional state, all were things that Riley could pick up on and in the case of her mates, she had them memorized down to a tee.

Sometimes life was better with it's little surprises and so she actively filled her mind with thought to avoid focusing on the presence that made it's way towards her. Within a moment, that person was next to her, staring out the window alongside her.

Despite her attempts to avoid determining who it was, the lack of contact, while Riley wasn't looking, immediately put a face to the unknown person.

"What are you doing awake my love?" Riley inquired to the red-headed half-demon.

"Couldn't sleep." Kaede responded as Riley shifted over a bit to allow them both a comfortable view out the window.

Riley allowed a gentle smile to take up residence on her face. She simply knew her mates too well, she could tell who they were based off of so many factors that it was nigh impossible to mix them up.

Fleur was sensual, romantic, and elegant in everything she did. Every movement was deliberate and carried out with an almost clinical degree of precision. When she walked her hips swayed just enough to entice a look. When she hugged, her whole body pressed to yours, allowing both parties to bask in the contact. Fleur always initiated contact directly. If she came up behind Riley, she would place a hand on her shoulder, to draw her attention first. She always ensured that her partner was aware of her presence when she wanted them to be.

Katie was different. Katie was energetic. A bit spastic at times, even playful. She was bouncy, not above skipping around with a wide grin. Katie always gave off energy, wherever she went. Her presence never went unnoticed because of how loud she was. That wasn't to say she spoke loud, or stepped heavy, it simply meant that she had a large personality and she wore it openly, which earned attention from people. Katie was always upbeat when it came to personal contact, an arm around the neck, or around the waist. Linking elbows and holding hands while they walked. She just made herself known.

Daphne was far more reserved, even in privacy. She allowed for public contact, but it obviously embarrassed her when it got intimate. Anything more then a peck on the lips would leave the Ice Queen blushing. When alone, she was more open with physical contact, though she rarely initiated anything more then hand-holding or perhaps a hug. Daphne was reserved like that, and it helped her stand out from the others.

Luna was a very physical person. Luna was generally always in contact with someone. Either cuddled up to them, leaning on them, holding hands. Much like Daphne, it made her stand out amongst Riley's mates as she was always hanging off of someone, usually Riley, Katie, or Fleur, whom were more open about it. Luna wasn't above stepping up behind Riley and wrapping her arms around her. In fact had it been her that had woken up, Riley would bet money that she would have.

Gaia, was very much like Daphne, but a bit more cautious, rather then reserved. Gaia was laid back and generally kept the physical acts to a minimum outside of when they were in private. With that being said, unlike Daphne, in private, Gaia would initiate contact, she'd flirt, and she'd be more then willing to walk up to Riley wrap an arm around her, or press up next to her. In a way, Gaia was far more bold, when it came to the intimate, then Daphne was. It was simply who they were as people, and Riley was piecing more and more together about how Gaia handled the intimate aspect of their relationship, the more time she spent with the Kazekage.

And Arturia, well Arturia was overly stoic, even in private. Though in truth, she was more so uncertain when it came to anything physical, due to two major points. One being that she had never engaged in anything overly intimate with anyone before, and the second was that most of her knowledge about the courting rituals of people were in regards to men and women, and not two women, or in this case a woman, whom considered herself a knight before that, and a demon who looked like a woman but really wasn't either. Add onto that, this knowledge came from fifteen-hundred years ago. Needless to say, Arturia felt out of place when trying to court Riley, and it often showed, with the awkward silences. That all being taken into account, Arturia was just like Katie in that she had a loud presence, though unlike Katie where it was her personality that was loud, in Arturia's case it was purely the strength of her presence. The combination of being a powerful warrior, king, and knight, gave her an unmistakable aura.

Knowing all of that, Riley knew the instant that someone stepped up next to her, rather then initiate contact, that it had to be Kaede. Kaede was unique amongst Riley's mates in that she didn't usually start anything, but once it started, she was highly invested. If Riley pulled her into a hug, Kaede would hold her, in a way that it almost seemed like the world would end if the two separated. If they kissed, Kaede would put her all into it, there was never any getting away with just a peck on the lips or a kiss on the cheek. Kaede was reserved, and very shy, but she adored affection and coveted it. She simply held a fear of rejection, and thus was hesitant to make any moves. Once contact was initiated on Riley's part though, Kaede would be more then happy to partake.

Knowing that, Riley let out the smallest of chuckles and placed an arm around the half-demon's shoulder. Just as Riley anticipated, Kaede sunk into her side, melding into it as the two continued to stare out the window.

Riley's smile grew as she breathed in her mate's scent. A gentle surge passed through Riley's body as she took in that scent, and the feeling of Kaede's body pressed against hers...

Riley stamped down the building arousal. She knew what this desire was, and though she knew her mates would happily oblige, they had things to do in the morning, and most of them were sleeping comfortably.

"What are you thinking about?" Kaede inquired.

"All sorts of stuff." Riley responded dreamily, mimicking Luna in that way which earned a curious look from Kaede.

Kaede didn't inquire for more, despite wanting to know. She'd always been a private person and she held others privacy to a high standard, and expected her own privacy to be held to such as well. If Riley was going to be vague about the answer, then in Kaede's mind that meant that she may not want to talk about it. So she'd drop it. It's not like it was important or anything.

It's just who she was as a person. Kaede didn't like to pry, she didn't like to push. She was quiet, and thoughtful. Reserved in that way when it came to people. Kaede preferred actions over words. Words could be turned into lies. It was harder to lie with your actions. Kaede trusted actions more then words.

Riley knew this about Kaede. She had come to learn parts of it through experience and a bit of guesswork but a lot of it also came from a newly developed ability that Riley had gained ever since sealing away the Ten-Tails and becoming it's Jinchuriki.

Ever since that day, Riley's ability to interact with the bonds she shared with her mates, had grown to incredible levels, and even now, over a year later, she was still learning new things she could do with it. The most important change was that Riley could now hear her mate's thoughts whenever they were touching. No longer did they have to direct their thoughts towards her, or even be feeling anything intensely. If she was touching them, then everything they thought, she felt and heard.

This new ability allowed for a level of closeness that few could ever dream of. Riley didn't tell them about this ability, mostly because she didn't want to embarrass them over the beautiful things they thought about her and each other.

Ever since becoming a demon, Riley had always had powerful empathic abilities. The stronger she got the clearer people's emotions appeared to her. Riley was a master **Occlumens** and she was extremely gifted in **Legilimency**, but she had never been able to just hear a persons thoughts like this, without so much as trying. Her skills with **Legilimency **were enough that she could read a person's surface thoughts with only eye contact, but she still needed to actually cast the spell to get anything deeper. Now though, with her mates, and with physical contact, the things that occurred in their heads, flowed freely into Riley's, and for the life of her, Riley couldn't bring herself to tell them about this gift and run the risk of them trying to hide some of the sappy, love-struck, and beautiful things they'd think about sometimes. Though one downside was the aforementioned sharing of their dreams. When they slept, what they dreamt flowed into Riley's mind just as clearly as their thoughts, and as said, sometimes people had weird dreams.

Even now it was happening. She could hear Kaede's voice inside her own head, and it filled Riley with pleasure, and happiness, that she was sure her mate could detect through their bond.

'_The moon is beautiful tonight. I wonder if that's what Riley's focused on? She likes staring at the sights. I wonder if it's a hobby of hers? Should I ask her to go look at some of the sights with me? She'd ask me where I wanted to go, and I have no idea. I need to get out more. Things are quieter here. I like the quiet. I wonder what she's thinking about. Is it me? Probably not. She's probably got other things on her mind… hmm…'_

Riley couldn't help it as her grin grew. Kaede was often so quiet, but she thought a lot. Rarely did a moment go by when the Diclonius wasn't thinking.

Though one of those thoughts did stand out, and Riley felt the need to clarify that she was in fact thinking about her.

"Hey Kaede… if we ever got married, would you want it to be like mine and Daphne's or would you want something more private?" Riley inquired, turning herself and pulling away from Kaede, just enough so that the two could face each other.

Kaede stared back, blinking a few times before turning her head, in an attempt to hide her blush as she smiled.

'_Marriage… to Riley? Just like Daphne. Riley's always so nice to me. I wish I could do something to thank her. She always says such nice things._' Riley could hear her beloved mate through their bond, and like with many other occasions in recent memory, Riley had to resist the urge to answer those concerns with reassurances of her own. Riley knew that Kaede held a deep seated amount of loathing for who she was, and what she had done in the past. Kaede wanted love, more then anything in the world, but she didn't think she deserved it. Especially not from Riley. Not that long ago, just before the two became a couple actually, Kaede had sworn that she would repent for her past by using her powers to protect those that she loved. Riley had thought she understood then, that the healing process would begin, and Kaede could somehow find peace.

Ever since gaining this new power, Riley knew that she hadn't. Kaede still hated herself. She was still determined to repent and so she kept her anger in check. She tried to smile and trust more. She tried so desperately to be worthy of the love she was being given, but it quickly dawned on Riley that Kaede still hadn't forgiven herself.

The first time that horrible thought crawled into Riley's head, it broke her heart, and left her miserable for the entire day. Her mates could obviously see that something was bothering her, but out of respect for Kaede, Riley kept the reason for her distress a secret.

Nowadays, Riley did what she could to lift Kaede's spirit and give her special attention when she was feeling lonely. She knew the two of them would need to have another talk about this, but she didn't want to reveal her new ability, nor did she want to put any pressure on any of them to control their thoughts around her. A part of Riley knew it was wrong to keep this ability from them, but a much stronger part simply found their true feelings far too beautiful to run the risk of them willingly or unwillingly, trying to hide them again.

"I think… if we ever got married, I'd want it to be private. I don't mind something small and quiet. I've never really thought much about it, but… I guess I'd be fine with that." Kaede responded after several long moments of thought.

"I didn't ask what you'd be 'fine' with. I asked what you wanted. I'll book the busiest street in London to hold our wedding on, and I'll invite the entire world if that's what you want. And if not, if you want something quiet… something peaceful, with just our close friends, and family… then I'll find the most beautiful venue I can possibly think of, and we'll just get hitched… no camera's, no press, no other person besides those we love and a goblin to officiate it." Riley state as she placed her hands on Kaede's shoulders and offered her a bright smile.

Kaede maintained her own smile as she locked eyes with Riley. After several seconds she averted her gaze and brought her hands up taking hold of Riley's arms as they held her.

"I think I'd like that. Something peaceful and quiet. Something we can do that just involves us and those we love. I don't care about anyone else. I don't care if anyone else knows. I'll know, and that's all that matters to me." Kaede responded. Riley offered her a nod and pulled her into an embrace, allowing both women to bask in each other's body warmth and the feeling of their magic.

Despite only being a half-demon, Kaede was much more sensitive to magic then humans. Riley's magic affected her to a similar degree that it affected Fleur, as the only other non-human amongst Riley's mates.

A quiet moments passed between before Riley finally released Kaede. She stared down at her for several more seconds before leaning in and kissing her gently on the lips.

Riley smiled into the kiss as she felt Kaede reach out and hold her face in her hands.

The kiss held for almost thirty seconds before Riley pulled back and smiled.

"What was that for?" Kaede inquired, a gentle blush, tinging her cheeks.

"I need a reason to kiss my beautiful girlfriend?" Riley asked in reply, causing Kaede's blush to deepen.

Silence passed between the two for several moments before Riley leaned in again, and this time kissed Kaede upon the forehead.

"Why don't you go back to sleep. I'm gonna go out for a bit. Get some air and clear my head. I'll be back before morning." Riley stated. Kaede was silent for a few seconds as she stared at Riley with curious eyes.

"Something bothering you?" Kaede asked.

"Bloodlust." Riley responded, earning a solemn nod from Kaede. Kaede knew that feeling all too well, though even she couldn't compare her own bloodlust to Riley's. A half-demon's normal affinity for violence was on par with some of the worst serial killers, humanity had to offer, but Riley was no half-demon. She was a full blooded archdemon, and when she wanted blood, it was almost like a kind of arousal would take her over. Where Kaede and many of Riley's half-demon children _wanted_ to kill, Riley _needed_ to.

"Alright. I'll see you in the morning." Kaede offered, earning a nod from Riley. In an instant, Riley was gone. To Kaede's eyes she simply disappeared. If Kaede had turned her head fast enough, she may have caught a figure in the sky, vanishing over the horizon a half-second after Riley vanished.

Several moments went by as Kaede stood there pondering to herself, why she didn't offer to go with Riley. Kaede was just as bloodthirsty as she was when she wore the name Lucy, she just had better control now. Even still, she knew Riley was going to kill bad people, rapists, murderers, criminals, through and through. The world would be a better place without them, so then why hadn't she asked to go with?

Kaede knew that Riley would have taken her with, if she'd asked. Riley would never admit it, but Kaede knew she got off on seeing her mates kill. Kaede had seen it throughout the Fourth Great Ninja war. Riley was never more aroused, then after a battle where she got to watch her mates bathe in the blood of their enemies. Kaede may not have been the best at picking up on certain social cues, but even she could tell what the look of desire in Riley's eyes meant whenever that happened.

So that left the question, why not go with? Perhaps she simply didn't want to embrace Lucy right now. Kaede kept that part of her locked within, but it wasn't so deep that she couldn't summon it up with a little bit of effort. Perhaps she simply didn't want to feed the caged demon. She enjoyed the way things were right now, and the less she partook in her demonic pleasures, the more content she was.

After several more seconds of thought, Kaede snuck back over to the bed and climbed back into her original spot.

Within a few minutes she was back asleep, her dreams filled with her dark haired lover.

_**July 16th 1998**_

**-Hellsing Manor-**

"You come highly recommended. Even from our own resident vampire. I find that interesting considering your former occupation." Came the voice of Daphne Greengrass Slytherin Hellsing. She currently sat in the wide spacious office that had once belonged to the head of the Hellsing Organization within the Hellsing manor.

Standing before her was an elderly man, in his late sixties at least. Despite his age and wrinkled face, the man stood with excellent posture and more then a modicum of pride. He stood at over six foot tall and was finely dressed, and over his left eye he wore a manacle. He bore twin blue eyes, and despite his age, his hair was jet black, and pulled back into a pony-tail. This man was Walter C. Dornez. An Ex-Vampire hunter and apparently a former employee at Hellsing. He used to work with Arthur Hellsing but he'd quit the organization after Richard Hellsing murdered his brother and niece and took over the organization.

Now he was back, and looking to begin working within the organization again, now that it was slowly getting back on it's feet.

Daphne stared at the man with piercing ice blue eyes, he stared back, a calm smile resting upon his elderly face. Her eyes slowly dropped from his face down to the pile of documents that sat on her desk. Within these documents were reports of various missions carried out by Walter during his time at Hellsing. Missions which pointed to an extreme level of skill and ability. These reports though, paled in comparison to the endorsement from the vampire in the basement, Alucard himself.

Upon hearing that Walter was applying for the position of Butler at the Hellsing manor, Alucard had offered his input suggesting that Daphne accept him as a candidate. When asked why, Alucard, with a degree of sadistic pleasure, stressed just how many people the two of them had slaughtered on missions together in the past. Despite being the literal Lord of Vampires, Daphne had long since grown accustomed to his sadism. She dealt with it enough in Riley to last a thousand life times. The vampire was no worse then the demoness. She simply accepted his endorsement and took a closer look at the man.

Finding nothing amiss she had called him in for a personal interview.

"Hellsing has it's own unique way of doing things I've found. Even having vampire hunters and vampires work together, should it be beneficial to the mission at hand. I guess you could say I impressed the old count once upon a time." Walter stated, his tone the epitome of the stereotypical old British gentleman. Smooth and dry.

"Yes. I feel as if such things are destined to continue. Regardless, you come highly recommended as I've said, and you're familiar with the facility. You should know that Hellsing itself is still recovering from what that traitorous git Richard Hellsing put it through. I've been tasked by the Queen and the Round Table to get the organization back up and running, and we're nearly there. I've already got a team of house elves to keep the manor in order and I've begun hiring out soldiers and mercenaries to guard the facility. I have Alucard to serve as our weapon, though I am in desperate need of aid in other areas." Daphne explained earning a nod from the man.

"Should you have me, my duty will be to you ma'am. Whatever you need of me, you simply have to say the word and I will see it done. As a good butler should." He responded, finishing with a very formal half-bow, hand placed on the chest and all.

"That's good to hear. Very well then Walter C. Dornez. Welcome to the Hellsing organization. And welcome home. The building is mostly unoccupied so you're free to choose from any empty room you find within. Pick one and get yourself settled and let me know where you'll be staying. Otherwise, we have some things to discuss. Primarily, I wish to better understand the business Hellsing did under Arthur Hellsing, and with that understanding perhaps we both can formulate how this organization is going to run under the Queen's new directive." Daphne stated earning a smile and a nod from the man.

**-Kamui-**

Power surged through the air as Riley channeled twin formations of spiraling wind into her palms. These formations grew and shaped, taking the form of large shuriken of wind.

A metallic buzzing filled the air and with a smirk, Riley sent the twin bladed spheres rushing forward at mind-boggling speeds. They shot up into the air, racing towards the peek of a towering mountain. Within moments they had crossed the massive distance and struck it's peek. Two massive spheres of rotating wind exploded outward and enveloped the mountaintop. Within moments, the uppermost peak of this massive mountain was gone. A lucky thing to have one's own pocket dimension, and the ability to morph, change, and create to one's heart's content. The young goddess had spent many an hour, testing her strength against greater and greater structures of nature, from massive forests, to titanic mountains, and even to impossibly high walls of water, the young goddess assaulted them all within **Kamui**, testing her ability to bring each of them low, before her might.

"Her power truly is immeasurable." Haku stated with a look of wonderment.

It wasn't uncommon for Riley's progeny to stand slack-jawed and in awe of her might. Most of them had never known true battle until coming to her, and thus most were left in shock, at the power that magic held over the universe.

Haku was one such person, despite his long history with conflict. He often found himself pondering his strange family, and how they interacted with each other and developed their relationships. Haku had always been very thoughtful, and ever since being brought back from the dead, and introduced to his new family, the young man, spent a great deal of time, analyzing the world around him.

Often times, his analysis of his sibling, started with an analysis of himself. Haku was a teenage boy, with effeminate features and a soft, almost womanly voice. He had long dark hair, and dark brown eyes. Many, upon looking at him, would misconstrue his gender, due to his feminine face, and delicate body. This young boy was the son of Riley, born in the future, and sent back in time due to an accident caused by a powerful sibling with control over space and time. As it stood right now, all of his current siblings were much the same.

There was Zabuza Mamochi, Haku's longtime mentor and friend. The two had only recently learned that they were half brothers and were still getting use to that fact. Zabuza was a tall man with dark brown hair. His eyes had once been dark brown as well, but after learning of his demonic heritage and the power he held within himself, he had fully embraced his inner demon, causing his dark eyes to now hum with a dim red glow, that would increase if he ever got angry or bloodthirsty. Unlike many of his other siblings, Zabuza was the only one with skin that matched his sire's, as it was almost gray like Riley's was. The only difference was that Zabuza's was more of a tanned gray, while Riley's was a pale gray.

Next amongst Haku's siblings was his full sister Elsa. Elsa had once stood as a queen of an old kingdom, but she no longer held such a title nor seemed to care about it. She had icy blonde hair, and amazingly vibrant blue eyes. Her clothes were often tinted with her ice magic, making them sparkle and glitter in the daylight. The pale skinned Elsa would rarely be found without her adoptive sister, and mate, Anna. Anna was an unofficial family member, though she was very friendly, so Haku chose to accept her as one. It was a bit odd to see the two of them together, as they would often times act just like sisters would, playful and having fun, but in a moments notice, they could become more intimate. Their relationship itself, didn't seem to bother anyone, but just the way they could go between sisters and lovers, was kinda strange, even for the admittedly strange family. Elsa had not embraced her demonic heritage yet, though she still commanded vast magical powers and was currently the only one of her half-demon siblings to have made herself several magical familiars.

After her was Eleanor, Zabuza's full sister. Much liker her brother, Eleanor had taken to embracing her demonic heritage, and it showed. Her hair was an oily black, and her eyes often dimly glowed red. She was ghostly pale, and rail thin, but on the taller side for a young woman. She was also incredibly strong, and impossibly intelligent. Eleanor was a genius, able to deduct and crunch facts, faster then most people could even begin to comprehend. Despite not being trained as a shinobi, she had proven in more then a few duels that she could still take Zabuza in a one on one fight, and damn did she make it spectacular. Watching the two duel was honestly frightening for Haku, and for many of his other siblings. He had seen Zabuza angry before, and he seen Zabuza brutally slaughter people on countless occasions, but nowadays, things were different. Zabuza had embraced his inner demon, just like Eleanor had, and when the two fought, they let their demon sides go wild. That was the only explanation that Haku had for it to explain the sudden fear he developed when seeing the two go at it, because they weren't two humans fighting anymore, they were going at each other like demons.

Eleanor was often followed around by her eternal guardian, a powerful misshapen golem of a man, inside a massive Diving suit. This man's name was Delta. He never spoke, the most noise he ever made were grunts and groans, but otherwise he held silent and followed Eleanor around like a faithful guard dog. Eleanor loved and revered the iron suited man, putting him on the same pedestal that she placed her mothers. She considered Delta her father and adored him as such, and the tin giant protected her as a father would his daughter, and he was no slouch in that department.

Next came Amaru. Amaru stood out from her siblings due to her dark red hair, and tan skin. Her eyes were a pretty teal and she held a beauty mark on her cheek. Much like Elsa, Amaru was a non-combatant. She had spent most of her life learning to be a doctor and even now she spent all hours of the day in pursuit of those goals. She learned medicine in all forms, from muggle to magical, from physical to spiritual. If there was a way to heal a person's injuries, Amaru wanted to learn it. More often then not, Amaru was the one that patched her siblings up after they were done training. Haku found that quite amusing as it used to be him always patching up Zabuza's injuries from battle, but nowadays, things were peaceful, and thus training was where the injuries were plentiful, and Haku more often then not, found himself sprawled out next to Zabuza, tired and hurt from a long training work out, and it was Amaru who moved between them, dutifully tending to their wounds, and happily using them as her practice dummies for honing her skills. Amaru was the daughter of the current Kazekage of Sunagakure, Sabaku no Gaia, and so she often made trips with Riley out to the Elemental Nations to visit her mother and spend time in Suna to experience it and learn more about where her other mother came from.

The last of the half-demon brood, was Elizabeth, whom was arguably the strongest of them. Elizabeth had shoulder length dark-brown hair, and much like Elsa, bright blue eyes. Elizabeth had the power to open portals between different dimensions and timelines. These portals were known as tears and Elizabeth could open them seemingly as will. While going through these tears was something she wasn't too keen on doing, Elizabeth could pull objects out. Anything she saw through her tears, she could bring into this reality if she wanted too. She worked constantly to master her control over these tears and learn how to harness them. Outside of them Elizabeth was becoming a skilled medic alongside Amaru and Haku, and though she wasn't a fighter, she was unafraid of being in a fight and would gladly assist those that did do the fighting. It was a version of Elizabeth from another time that had caused the incident that had separated the siblings in the first place, and though she wasn't at all responsible for something that not only happened when she was a baby, but said baby was also a different version of the Elizabeth that they had with them. Still though, guilt manifests for the strangest reasons, and Elizabeth tried her best to accommodate her siblings and make them happy as her way of atoning for causing all of the chaos in their lives.

The last of his siblings, Haku knew almost nothing about. Other then he was the only one who was born from Riley's womb and not one of her mates. He was a full demon because of this, and unimaginably powerful too. This sibling had no name, nor did he have a form. He was known simply as The Darkness. And if Haku understood correctly, he was a demonic aspect that encompassed all of the darkness and shadows of the Earth and it's solar system. Meaning anything in the dark, it could sense, detect, read, feel, things like that. The Darkness currently lived within Riley's body. Their souls unified, allowing Riley to manifest it's power alongside her own. As a full demon and his mother, the Darkness could channel it's full power through her if it wished, and from what Haku had heard, at full power the Darkness was as strong as the Nine-Tailed Fox.

So many siblings, so many personalities, all of them making Haku's life so very interesting.

He let out a sigh as explosions filled the air. The loud rumble of the blasts, finally drew him out of his thoughts and he turned his attention over to Zabuza and Eleanor. Brother and sister were sitting next to each other, recovering from a recent duel. One of Zabuza's arms was dislocated, and Eleanor was breathing strangely, almost like she had collapsed a lung or perhaps damaged her diaphragm.

"I see you two are finished. Do you need me to tend to your injuries?" Haku inquired gently as he stepped over to them. Both siblings let out almost identical sighs, causing Haku to smile.

"Just take my arm." Zabuza bit out, earning a nod from Haku whom knelt by his side and raised the arm up, holding it steady as Zabuze threw his weight against it, forcing the arm back into it's socket. With a growl, Zabuza rolled the shoulder a few times, while Haku moved over to Eleanor.

"How are you doing?" Haku inquired gently.

"I took a **Water Dragon Jutsu** straight to the sternum. I think I might need to take the night off." Eleanor replied, earning a gentle chuckle from Haku.

"I would say so. You two are often quite rough. I'll call mother Riley down and have her look at that. Best to deal with it quickly." Haku stated. Eleanor merely sighed, lacking any real sense of pride at the moment. Several seconds passed when Haku returned with Riley by his side.

"You kids playing rough now?" Riley inquired, earning a chuckle from Haku, while Eleanor merely deadpanned at their shared choice in wording.

"He started it." Eleanor muttered sending a devilish smirk towards Zabuza.

"Sadist woman. You hit me with another fireball and I'll teach what it's like when I 'start' shit!" Zabuza growled. Eleanor's smirk turned predatory, but a quick poke to the forehead, broke her concentration.

Riley stood over Eleanor with a smirk adorning her face. Zabuza and Eleanor inherited powerful Uchiwa genes through Riley's magic. They acted just like Madara and Izuna did whenever they fought. The demon blood helped to accentuate their aggression but they were just like their ancestors.

Riley let out a tut of laughter and knelt down in front of Eleanor. She extended her hand and quickly channeled healing magic into her daughter's body. Within moments she had located the damage and began to correct it. Eleanor's enhanced demonic healing was already in the works so it wouldn't have been more then a few hours until she was fine, but Riley didn't like seeing her children in pain, so she was more then happy to speed along their recovering, despite their demonic healing factor.

Once she was done, she pulled Eleanor to her feet, then stepped over and offered a hand to Zabuza. With a sigh he took it and rose up as well. Riley then offered the full siblings a look before turning her gaze towards Haku. Brown eyes, met with her **Rinne Sharingan**, and after a few seconds mother and child started to giggle.

"I think that's enough training for now. Let's head back and I'll make you guys some food." Riley offered, earning a polite smile from Haku, and a weak one from Eleanor, and a deadpan from Zabuza.

"Is that a treat or a threat?" Zabuza asked.

"Hey! I'm trying out new recipes and you're my guinea pigs! Be happy, a mother's cooking is to be cherished!" Riley responded indignantly.

"But you cant cook." Zabuza responded.

"I'm trying dammit! I just got out of school. I've got nothing else to do. Training and learning to cook are the only things that help pass the time!" Riley shouted back. Eleanor held quiet, not wanting to earn Riley's wrath, while Haku held his gentle smile.

"In truth she is getting better. Practice does make perfect after all." Haku stated, earning a pouting look from Riley.

"Not you too." Riley whined.

"**Face it kit. You suck."** Riley heard her ever present, so called 'better half' say to her.

"_Shut the fuck up you enormous walking carpet. At least I'm trying to learn new skills, make myself a decent person to have around the house." _Riley thought back.

"**Face it Riley. The only reason you got into cooking was because Sirius told you it's a way to a woman's heart. You bought into that crap and now you're trying your hardest to learn one of the few skills you actually aren't that good at."** Kurama responded with a laugh.

"_I will make my mates the best damn meals the world has ever seen. It's like Haku said, practice makes perfect. So what if I haven't mastered it yet? I've only been working at it for three months!"_ Came Riley's response.

"**True. Though perhaps the fault in your ability lay in the fact that you yourself, have never partaken in that many fine meals? I mean face it. As a child you ate garbage, both literally and figuratively. When you were out on the road with Remus, sometimes you had the time to go to the bank and get money, other times you two just ate whatever you hunted. Roasting up some rabbit, and the like isn't exactly exquisite cuisine."** Kurama noted.

Riley was silent for a second before she let out a sigh.

"Alright, I'll just order pizza, let's go." Riley stated as she grabbed the three and withdrew them from **Kamui**.

"_Maybe I should ask mama for some cooking lessons. Hmm… maybe I should dig into the vault of memories I've taken and track down the assholes who knew something about cooking decent food. I'm tired of crap coming out looking like roadkill. How in the hell am I supposed to make a nigh perfect paradise if I can hardly season a proper egg?"_ Riley pondered to herself as she followed after her children, leaving the massive pocket dimension quiet and lifeless.

**July 17th 1998**

**-Riley's House, Outside London-**

Riley sat on a grassy field outside of her home. Standing by her side was Arturia. Both were silent as they stared out over the city. Riley found herself doing this more and more. It was becoming almost meditative.

While Riley basked in the calmness of the world around her, Arturia was busy running plans through her mind. Since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, Arturia had spend a great deal of her time working with the Knights of the Round Table. As the newly established head of the organization, her job was to ensure the safety, security, and stability of the country. The Round Table had always had close ties to Britian's muggle military, and with the Hellsing Organization, though with the rise of the Cysgodol Legion, and with Riley not taking center stage as a walking talking nuclear deterrent, the role of the Round Table had evolved.

Now Arturia presided over not only chief politicians, military officers, and bureaucrats, but also Daphne, as the head of Hellsing, and Itachi, as the newly established head of the Legion. It was Arturia's job to make sure all of these powerful individuals were using their power to benefit the kingdom, and ensure that they were all cooperating. Slowly but surely, Arturia fell back into the commanding mindset that she had held so close during her reign as king. She ensured that she held close allies to the powerhouses within the organization. People like Itachi, and Daphne, were a given, considering their prior experience working together. Then there was the head of the DMLE, madam Bones. Arturia made sure that she kept the woman close and secured her loyalty. Bones was pragmatic, and straightforward. She adhered stringently to the law, and didn't let her feelings or emotions get in the way of her decisions. Which was exactly how Arturia handled herself when it came to her decisions.

A quiet noise from Riley drew the ancient king's attention, her gaze fell down to the grey-skinned demoness as she ran a hand through her hair.

A few moments passed before Riley glanced up at Arturia and offered her a smile. Arturia returned Riley's smile, with one of her own. Despite how awkward things were between the two of them, neither could deny the attraction they felt for the other. Nor did they want too. Arturia wished she was better at this. Better at courting and expressing her feelings. She knew she felt something for Riley, what that something was, was anyone's guess. And yet, even with that well known to the ancient King, she still couldn't fully express herself to Riley.

Instead the two of them often traded gentle looks with one another. Occasionally they'd kiss and things would get more heated, but it never went much further then gentle petting. Arturia was often astounded by how patient Riley was wit her. She had heard more then a few whispers from Riley's other mates in regards to her libido and her proclivity for the intimate. But Riley never pushed Arturia, or put her under any pressure. She seemed to be perfectly happy with the baby steps they were taking, and that was just fine with Arturia. If Riley was going to let them work through this at their own pace, then Arturia would take all the time she had so she could get it right.

After a few quiet seconds of smiling at one another, Riley rose to her feet. When standing next to her, it often astounded Arturia, just how tall Riley was. Perhaps it was because she had lived so long ago, and people were noticeably shorter back then, but Riley being six foot even, made her appear enormous to Arturia.

Riley stared down at Arturia for a few moments, her smile never leaving her, and Arturia never once flinching from the powerful gaze of the demoness. The movement was shared by the two, as both moved to capture the lips of the other. Arturia rose up on her toes, while Riley leaned down. The kiss was gentle, and chaste, almost free of lust, though it one searched for it, they could probably find it.

When they separated, Riley flashed her partner a charming smile as before turning her gaze back out towards London.

"Feeling playful today?" Arturia inquired.

"A bit. I miss the taste of those lips sometimes." Riley responded, earning a smile and a gentle blush from Arturia.

"You flatter me. You must want something." Arturia noted as her smile morphed into a smirk, while Riley let out a chuckle.

"It's not flattery to speak the truth. I could spend all day kissing those lips, and my heart wouldn't stop racing until we separated." Came Riley's response.

"I'm not sure I would mind that. You are quite skilled in that particular area." Arturia stated, earning herself a chuckle from Riley.

The sound of footsteps approaching broke the two lovebirds out of their flirting. Riley glanced over to find Fleur standing there, eyeing the two with curiosity.

"Dinner is almost ready." Fleur informed them, earning a nod from both.

Riley offered Arturia another smile before stepping towards Fleur and placing an arm around her. The two headed back towards the house as Arturia turned her gaze back out towards London. After several moments, her mind began to fill once again with plans. There was still work to be done after all, and if Arturia had her way, this would be the beginning of a new age for Britain. An age of peace and justice for all people, magic and muggle alike.

Meanwhile, Riley and Fleur made their way up to the house, both hanging off one another, and enjoying the feeling of the other pressed against them.

"**_Enjoy these moments of levity while you can kit. Dark days are on the horizon."_** Kurama noted, earning a mental hum of agreement from Riley.

"_I know. I'm trying not to push anyone, but we all need to resume training. The threat posed by the Day of Wrath, is still present. Until that day has come and gone, and the devil responsible for it, is dealt with, I wont rest."_ Riley stated in reply to her furry companion.

"_**Good.**_**_Something tells me that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. We all need to begin preparing. With whatever time we have until then, we need to gather our power, in whatever form that takes. Training. Allies. Weapons. The world has plenty to offer us, and magic is still screaming to life, ever since the end of the war. We can use this to our advantage, and ensure that we start benefiting from these changes._**" Kurama informed her.

"_Yeah. Just a few more days of relaxation. I want them to enjoy just a few more days. Once that's done. It'll be time to start moving. War is on the horizon, and I intend to win it."_ Riley thought back as she turned her attention back towards Fleur as they entered the house. Just a few more days to spend time with her friends and family. A bit more time to enjoy what little peace the world had to offer. But once it had come and passed, they'd need to begin preparing. Darkness was gathering, and hidden within, a foe unlike any other.

Yes the end of the Age of Man was a quiet thing. Passing by almost unnoticed. But it's end was coming. Magic swelled to life, growing stronger and stronger, and in the coming days, the demon would rise from obscurity and the world would come to know her power.

**-****To Be Continued-**

_**Alright, there's the first chapter. I hope it was a decent recap, introducing some of the characters and reminding everyone about Riley's family. I hope you all enjoyed it, and I hope you all like the introduction of time and placement. I plan on holding to that and keeping track of the whens and hows, so that the story flows a lot better.**_


	2. 2: Lighthearted Musings

_**Time for the second chapter. People have offered their wonderment about the story moving forward, and all I can offer right now, is to trust me. I've got a whole long timeline planned out, I've even got the first arc of this story, pinned down to the dates. Now as I've said, I'll be trying to keep track of the where and when, so that the story flows a bit easier and it follows a more reasonable timeline, rather then just mentioned when we are from time to time in the chapters. I hope people enjoy this, and I hope it helps to build up anticipation as certain dates become more important and people start to understand the story timeline I'm sort of following. Also sorry this took so long, I got caught up at work preparing for Mother's day and it killed my free time. I apologize for it, otherwise I would have had this out a week ago. Anyway, last chapter of pleasantries, then we start off with the story. **_

_**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**_

**July 20th 1998**

**-Land of Earth, Elemental Nations-**

Explosions tore through the forest, lighting up the night sky.

"He doesn't seem to like us very much." Kakashi noted. The man himself, was knelt in a small alcove, atop a large rock formation. Gathered around him were four others including Zabuza Mamochi, Haku, Naruko Uzumaki Uchiwa, and Sasuke Uchiha.

"We're trying to kill him. I wouldn't expect him to like us." Haku noted.

"Kakuzu of Taki is not an opponent to be underestimated. We need to go at this another way." Zabuza stated, earning a nod of agreement from Kakashi.

"According to Zetsu, Kakuzu has five hearts, each one attuned to a separate element. This allows him to utilize all five nature transformations. He hasn't used any water style techniques since Kakashi struck him with his **Raikiri**. This leads me to believe we've taken out the water heart." Sasuke noted. His **Sharingan** blazing in the darkness.

The young Uchiha's eyes weren't the only ones glowing in the darkness. Kakashi's own **Sharingan** was unveiled, Zabuza's eyes glowed a menacing red, and were slitted, and Naruko's **Rinnegan** shined with a dim purple hue to it.

"One down, four to go. We need to surround him, and hammer him again. Each time we get an opening, we can take out one of his hearts." Naruko stated to her compatriots.

"Until we take out the wind heart, I can't provide any cover with the **Hidden Mist Jutsu**. The darkness will provide us with some cover, but not a lot." Zabuza added, as he closed his eyes, and listened. The bombardment of explosions had silenced, meaning that Naruko's clones had finally been destroyed. Kakashi had a **Shadow Clone** of his own, out on the battlefield, but it was watching from a distance to make sure that Kakuzu didn't make a run for it.

More then likely the man was searching for them. Despite knowing the danger their squad posed, Kakuzu of Taki wouldn't run from a bounty as large as the one he could get off of Kakashi and Zabuza. Add on top of that, that Haku, Naruko, and Sasuke, all had bloodline abilities that he could sell off, and that left the man with a potential golden egg, that he was unlikely to get an opportunity at again. He wouldn't run. He'd fight this out, and that worked to their advantage.

If the Legion could take out Kakuzu, then that would leave just Deidara, Hidan, and Hiroko, as all that remained of the rogue Akatsuki. Out of all four of them, Kakuzu was the most dangerous. So dealing with him would be a major step in ending the threat of the Akatsuki, once and for all.

"Alright, I think I have an idea." Kakashi stated after a moment.

Outside, standing upon a rocky plateau was Kakuzu of Taki. The man could hardly be described as human in his current state. With the stolen technique **Earth Grudge Fear,** Kakuzu could utilize long black strands of hair to manipulate parts of his body, and even steal organs from his foes. Most notable of these organs were the four hearts he had taken from various shinobi, which gave him access to their cores, and their chakra affinities.

The man in question was a force to be reckoned with. No one knew his true age, but he had once engaged Hashirama Senju in combat and had lived to tell the tale, so he was at least in his nineties.

He was currently on the lookout for the team that had tried to ambush him. He knew they were Legionaries from their tattered black cloaks. He had to deal with them quickly, before they called for reinforcements. Kakuzu dreaded the idea of having to face 'her' in battle. He knew he would stand no chance against the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. He had to kill these bothersome roaches quickly and then slink back into the underground.

The roar of rushing water caught his ears and he spun around. Racing over a nearby hill were two large water dragons.

Kakuzu's limbs began to separate and distend as long strands of hair billowed out. Out from his back and shoulders, a massive main of black hair rose up, with two white animal masks poking out through the blackened strands, over his shoulders.

His Fire and Lightning hearts both unleashed towards of their particular elements. A stream of fire and lightning rushed up towards the oncoming water dragons, slamming against the attacks and halting their advance.

The two sides were deadlocked for several long moments when finally the water dragons were overpowered by Kakuzu's unending out-pour of magic, and they both burst into massive clouds of steam.

This hot steam flowed over the battlefield, rushing past Kakuzu and obscuring his sight.

Unveiling his wind heart, he unleashed a blast of air, sending the cloud of steam rushing away.

The ancient shinobi had expected some sort of trap, and was not disappointed. Surrounding him on all sides, having used the steam as a medium, were dozens of Ice Mirrors.

"This again_?" _Kakuzu muttered to himself.

In response he quickly unleashed blasts of lightning at the Ice Mirrors, shattering them one by one in rapid succession.

It was as he was focused on removing this threat, that he suddenly felt a tug that started pulling him through the air.

"_What?!" _Kakuzu thought as he flew through the air, drawn by an unseen force towards one of the mirrors.

Sensing danger, he focused on the mirror he was rushing towards and unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning at it. To his surprise it did not shatter. The mirror held true, and Kakuzu continued to rush towards it.

He began to move more of his hearts to face towards the mirror, intent on unleashing a powerful combination attack against it, when loud chirping filled the air. He turned his gaze to his right, just in time to see Kakashi Hatake dive into view, his hand engulfed in Lightning chakra.

On the opposite side of Kakuzu, Sasuke came rushing at him, **Chidori** also in hand.

Kakuzu began to maneuver his hearts into position to counter attack when something fell out of the sky and slammed in him.

He felt one of his hearts explode as a massive blade sliced clean through it.

A foot connected with his face, and Kakuzu could just barely see past it to know that Zabuza Mamochi was standing atop his body, his massive sword, driven straight through one of his hearts.

The moment of distraction was all that was needed as Kakashi and Sasuke drove their lightning covered hands through Kakuzu's body, destroying two more hearts in the process.

Kakuzu had stopped moving when he was struck, and he immediately retaliated by twisting himself in an unnatural way and sending the three men flying away from him.

It was as he performed this motion that someone hopped over the Ice Mirror.

He was able to turn his gaze just in time to spot the **Rinnegan **eyesof one Naruko Uzumaki Uchiwa. In her hand was a pitch black chakra rod. With a yell and a powerful toss, she sent the black rod right at Kakuzu, intent on spearing his final heart with it.

Defiantly, Kakuzu used said heart, his wind heart to fire a blast of energy to hopefully knock the strange projectile off course.

Unfortunately for him, the black chakra rod cut through the magical attack, like it wasn't even there.

The blade struck true, piercing Kakuzu's final heart.

Kakuzu let out a strangled sound, as he saw the glaring visage of Zabuza Mamochi fill his gaze.

In his last instant Kakuzu caught a strange glimpse of the world, as his head was separated from his body.

'_An added precaution._' Was his final thought. Knowing that his foes intended to make certain that he was truly dead.

The Taki criminal was dead before his head hit the ground.

His body collapsed unceremoniously into the dirt with Zabuza standing over him.

"Is he dead?" Came the question from Haku whom stepped out of the Ice Mirror he had reinforced to provide cover for Naruko as she utilized **Bansho Ten'in **to pull Kakuzu towards them and right into their kill zone.

"Yes. He's dead." Kakashi responded, his **Sharingan** watching as the chakra from the ancient ninja's body began to dissipate, signifying death.

"One down. three to go." Zabuza noted as he knelt over the corpse of the fallen Taki ninja.

"Yes. Hiroko, Deidara, and Hidan. The latter will only prove a minor threat. Without someone to keep a leash on him, he'll eventually start killing again. All we have to do is wait." Sasuke stated.

"Let's seal the body and get back." Naruko suggested after a moment.

"Eager to get home and see the little one?" Kakashi inquired with an eye smile.

"I can miss my kid if I want too." Naruko replied indignantly. Haku simply offered the two a smile while Zabuza placed Kakuzu's remains in a storage scroll.

Once that was done, all five activated their personal portkeys which would take them to the outskirts of Sunagakure where they could get their ride home.

**-****Meanwhile, Sunagakure, Elemental Nations-**

Gaia no Sabaku sat in her office, diligently working through paperwork. After a ten minute internal pep talk, she was finally able to muster the willpower to try and power through the mountain of paper in her office.

It was a difficult thing to achieve, this drive to work on the hundreds of loose documents that seemed to reproduce asexually whenever she wasn't looking, but once she was in the zone, little could be done to get her out of it.

Tension immediately filled her body, as she felt hands slide over her shoulders. Her eyes went wide, and for an instant, she felt the need to defend herself. As soon as that instant passed however, Gaia immediately settled, and allowed a gentle smile to cross her lips.

"What did I tell you about sneaking into my office while I'm working?" Gaia inquired.

"To bring chocolates." Came a familiar voice, accompanied by a chuckle, The mystery person placed a box of delicious sweets over Gaia's shoulder, earning a mildly amused sigh from the woman when she spotted the box.

Gaia took the box with a small chuckle and set it on her desk. She then turned herself around in her seat, to focus on the intruder.

She found her fiance standing there, wearing a pleasant smile upon her face.

"You weren't supposed to be out here until this weekend. What are you doing here?" Gaia inquired with genuine curiosity, not at all unhappy to see her beloved bride-to-be.

"A team of Legionaries just took down Kakuzu of Taki. That leaves only three members of the old Akatsuki left to deal with." Riley stated earning a nod from the Kazekage.

"You didn't assist them?" Gaia asked.

"They handled it well enough. But I was around just in case." Riley responded with a shrug.

"I see. Give the illusion of freedom, and keep yourself scarce. Regardless, that's good news. How are things?" Gaia asked as she placed one arm on the arm-rest of her chair and rested her cheek upon her knuckles.

"Good. Things are good. Not much has changed since the last time I was out here. Britain's doing well, lively and peaceful." Riley responded as she moved and sat on the edge of Gaia's desk.

"But?" Gaia inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm bored." Riley responded with a shrug, earning an amused chuckle from Gaia.

"Without a world to save or enemies to crush, you find yourself with nothing to do. Must be awful. Have you ever considered getting a job?" Gaia asked.

"Can you honestly imagine me working in any sort of job? I mean, sans the whole 'world hero' thing, I'm a woman with gray skin, horns, tails, and wings. Nobody is gonna hire me." Riley responded, earning a single snort of laughter from Gaia.

"I guess it would be odd to see you working in a shop of some sort. Have you considered other pursuits?" Gaia pressed.

"Such as?" Riley replied.

"Unlike me, you're not saddled to a single position, or even a single country. You have money, and all the time in the world. Go somewhere. Go on an adventure. Go on a vacation. Go explore ancient ruins, or old forgotten lands of old history. Experience foreign cultures and have some fun. Gods know you could do with some time to relax." Gaia offered earning a sigh from Riley.

"Yeah I get that. I mean it's not like I haven't thought about it. The problem is, that I'd want to go on such adventures with my friends, my family, my mates. The snag comes in the form of them all having lives, and jobs. Fleur works at Gringotts, Katie's taken a job with the Legion. Luna's writing for the Quibler, Daphne's got her work at Hellsing, the only one that has any free time at all is Kaede, and while I would love to spend time with her and show her some of the amazing places in the world, I can't help but feel I'd start to miss the rest of my ladies, and I'd want to get back to them, and that's not fair to Kaede. That was my problem with my honeymoon with Daph. I loved all the time we spent together, but after the first week I had to fight off the urge to bring them up in conversation because I didn't want her to think I wasn't paying attention to her." Riley explained with a sigh, earning a nod from Gaia.

"I see. Riley, I can't speak for the rest of your mates, but one of the things I love most about you, is how big of a heart you have. You shower your friends, family, and mates with so much affection and love, that it often leaves me battled at how you manage it without burning out. I understand and accept the fact that you are in love with other women, and that I'm not always going to be the one that's on your mind. It doesn't mean I love you any less, because you think about them. The fact that you're so worried about focusing your attention on the one you should be focusing on, just proves to me, that this isn't just some fling to you. Even on your honeymoon, you can't just forget about your other lovers. I understand that, and I think, were I in Daphne's position, I would be very thankful and appreciative of the effort you put into making me the center of attention, despite your desire to love all of your mates equally." Gaia offered earning a gentle smile from Riley.

"Perhaps you should start taking them out individually when they have time. As you said, each one of them has a schedule so they're not all, always going to be free, so maybe taking the time that they individually have to spend time with them, will help you occupy your time." Gaia continued after a moment, causing Riley's smile to grow just a bit more.

"Hmm… you know, who'd have thought that it would be you I'd be getting relationship advice from." Riley noted with a giggle, earning a smile from Gaia.

"I solve problems. That is one of the major functions of a Kage. Big problems and little problems. Hopefully my advice will help you. Or maybe it'll inspire you. Regardless, I'll have offered my two-cents." Gaia responded, receiving a nod of agreement from Riley.

"Hmm… maybe I'll try that. All I know is that I need something to fucking do. Between training, and learning new skills, I'm pretty much bored shitless. Itachi only offers me the occasional bit of work at the Hidden Village, and most of that is just training jobs for the new recruits. I mean I understand, most of the work the village is getting right now is beneath me, and so he wants the others to build up their skills and experience by handling them, but man… without Hogwarts or a war to fight, I've just got too much damn time on my hands." Riley muttered, sounding bummed out.

"The problem with that Riley, is that despite your love for training, you do it in **Kamui**. You spend a week or two in there every single day, and on the outside only a few minutes pass. You fill the rest of your day learning various 'skills' like cooking, gardening, and… what else was it?" Gaia began to explain though she stopped and paused as she tried to recall just what else Riley had taken as a 'hobby' to fill her time with.

"I'm learning to play the violin." Riley chirped in reply, causing Gaia to nod in remembrance.

"What I'm trying to say Riley, is because you literally have all the time in the world, you don't know what to do with all of it. Maybe find more instruments to learn how to play. Maybe learn other skills. You told me you dreamed of building a paradise right?" Gaia inquired, earning a nod from Riley, she continued, "Well then, have you looked into history? There has been who knows how many civilizations throughout the Earth's history. Perhaps you should study them. Learn where they succeeded and where they failed. Learn from their triumphs or failures. The least you could do is maybe learn city-planning. Learn how to build your own town. You have the free time, so maybe look into it. It can't hurt."

Riley looked thoughtful as Gaia explained this to her. After a few moments she offered her mate a smile. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe I will start taking a look at history. After all, what could it hurt?"

Gaia was about to respond when she heard a knock at her door. She turned towards it, and motioned for one of her guards to let the person in.

They did so, and in walked one of her Anbu.

"My lady. A squad of Legionaries has arrived at our gates. They claimed to have killed Kakuzu of Taki." The Anbu offered, earning a nod from Gaia.

"Allow them entrance." She then turned to Riley. "Think about what I said. Maybe it'll help you stave off boredom. Human civilization has been around for eons. Who knows what you'll find if you go looking."

"I'll do that. Thank you for your wisdom, Lady Kazekage." Riley responded with a charming smile. She then leaned down and kissed Gaia on the lips. It was gentle, and almost chaste, but Gaia could detect the underlying hints of passion that always accompanied Riley's kisses.

Riley was quick to pull away, offering Gaia one last smile before she vanished in a burst of speed.

From there, Riley quickly retrieved her comrades and brought them back to Britain, the body of Kakuzu, safely in tow.

**\- Hyuuga compound, Pentref Cysgodian Hud, July 21st 1998-**

Naruko and Hinata sat together watching from a distance as Riley played with the now year old, Boruto.

Sitting next to them were Katie and Fleur, both of whom were also watching the demoness.

Riley was laying on her belly, propped up on one of her arms. Boruto sat in front of her, smiling and babbling at her as the two conversed.

"You are just the most adorable little guy, you know that?" Riley stated to the baby as she reached her hand out and ran it through his darkened locks.

In response, Boruto giggled, and continued his babbling. All the while reaching for Riley's hand to hold.

"She's so good with him." Katie said to Fleur, receiving a nod from the woman in reply.

"He never seems to cry whenever his aunt is around." Hinata noted.

"I think it's her eyes. He likes the pattern in them, it draws his attention." Naruko stated.

"Maybe it's just because it reminds him of your eyes." Hinata offered up.

"I don't think so. He's never this good for me. Always squawking and trying to get into things. I can never seem to keep his attention. Riley though… he just seems mesmerized by her. He's the same way with Hinata. He only gets in trouble with me." Naruko noted with a pout.

"Well isn't that kinda your role? Hinata is mommy, and he has to be an angel for mommy. With you, he can have fun and get into trouble. Your supposed to cover for him and teach him life lessons, and go on adventures with him." Katie stated, earning a smile from Hinata, while Naruko looked thoughtful.

"Hmm… maybe… I still think he's trying to figure me out. I don't know." Naruko said after a moment.

"You two just need some bonding time. I mean do you really want him to just sit around and do nothing all day, or do you want him to start exploring and engaging the world? With Hinata, he seems more focused on her, but with you he obviously feels safe enough to go explore." Katie noted.

"She's right. I don't think it has anything to do with your relationship, or lack of one. I think he just feels safe around you, and is encouraged to go do things." Hinata agreed.

Naruko again looked thoughtful at hearing that, she then turned her attention back over to Riley and Boruto, as she heard Boruto let out a squeal of glee.

Riley was now on her back, holding the child above her. He was giggling gleefully as he reached down towards her.

"Have you two thought about having another?" Katie inquired after a moment. Hearing her question, both Naruko and Hinata shared a look and simultaneously blushed.

"Is that a yes?" Katie asked, noting their reactions.

"We've talked about it, yeah. Maybe when Boruto's two or three we'll give it a shot. I know I've always wanted to have a few kids, so I guess we'll just have to see what happens. What about you guys? I've noticed Riley's been spending more time around here, and that got me wondering..." Naruko responded giving Katie and Fleur a curious look.

"I'm gonna wait a few years. Maybe, when I'm in my twenties, I'll be more into it. Right now I'm more focused on me, you know." Katie responded, earning a nod from Naruko and Hinata, whom then turned their attention to Fleur.

"Riley and I have talked about it. We cannot settle on a date for when we want to get married. I zink I am ready to start a family, but I would like to be married before we bring a baby into the world." Fleur replied.

"I see. So what's the issue with the wedding date?" Naruko inquired.

"Well we cannot decide what type of wedding we want, and we cannot seem to agree on how long we should give ourselves to plan it out. I honestly zink if zis keeps up, Riley is just going to drag me before a goblin, and we will end up eloped." Fleur replied with a minor chuckle as she brushed some of her hair behind her ear.

"Well, that could be fun too. Just the two of you, saying your vows, swearing your love, and then you disappear into the great unknown for a few days to unwind and enjoy yourselves." Katie stated, earning a look from Fleur.

"Oh, is zat how you want to get married?" Fleur inquired.

"No, I think I'd like something fancy, and fun. Something colorful and with some cool music. You just need to stop worrying about the little things and set a date. Just pick a time, and roll with it." Katie responded.

Fleur gave her an inquisitive look, but decided to take this opportunity to redirect the conversation and she turned her attention to Naruko and Hinata.

"Have you two talked about marriage?" Fleur asked, causing the two to blush.

"Um… yeah. We um- we decided we were going to look into something maybe in the winter time." Naruko replied.

"Really? That's great! Have you told Riley yet?" Katie asked.

"She kinda just guessed it. This was about a week ago. We set the date, and I spent the whole day grinning like an idiot. Riley took one look at me and said 'congrats'. She knew immediately." Naruko explained to the two.

"She has that way about her. I zink she's been reading our minds a lot more. I see it in her eyes, whenever we touch. She does well hiding it on her face, but whenever I zink something, something romantic, or touching, I see the love in her eyes, like she knows it. I do not know if she's just using **Legilimency** or if zis is new, but I can tell it is happening." Fleur stated earning herself a very curious look from Katie whom hadn't noticed that.

While Katie sent a glance over at Riley, and blushed a bit at the implication of Riley being in her head and hearing all the sappy, lovey-dovey, and lewd things that passed through her mind. And that was just in connection with Riley. Not knowing how far Riley's mind-reading abilities went, led to the possibility of her hearing all sorts of dumb things that passed through Katie's mind from time to time. The thought nearly horrified her.

Before Katie could dwell on it for a too long, sound caught her ears, as several Hyuuga raced up to Hinata and one of them whispered something to her.

"See them in." Hinata responded to her clansmen, whom nodded and quickly headed away.

"What's up?" Katie reflexively asked, before Naruko could.

"Lord Uchiha is here, with some of his clansmen." Hinata replied as she rose from her seat.

The three others followed suite as Itachi entered the room. Behind him was Shisui Uchiha, whom was half-dragging a disgruntled Sasuke Uchiha, as well as several other Uchiha clan members. Karin Uzumaki was also with them, wearing a happy grin, and honestly, looking like she was on cloud nine.

"Lord Uchiha." Hinata offered as a greetings.

"Lady Hyuuga. Thank you for allowing us entrance. I heard that Riley was here." Itachi responded. Hinata nodded over to where Riley lay, baby Boruto still held aloft in her arms. Both of them were looking over at the commotion with curious gazes.

Hinata let out a silent sigh of relief as Itachi offered her a thankful nod and walked towards Riley, followed closely by his troop. Itachi was the Lord-Commander of the Hidden Village. Someone like that, doesn't usually make house calls unless something important was going on.

She hung back, along with Naruko, Katie, and Fleur whom all watched and listened with great curiosity.

Seeing them heading for her, Riley brought the baby down to her arms and sat up, setting Boruto in her lap and resting her chin on the top of his head and hugging the baby to her, earning a playful coo from him.

Itachi offered the baby a pleasant smile before turning his attention to Riley.

"What's up?" Riley inquired.

Itachi just stared back for several long seconds, a trademark Uchiha smirk, holding steady on his face. He then turned his gaze over towards Sasuke as Shisui playfully shoved the Uchiha heir forward, to stand next to his brother.

Sasuke sent a glare towards Itachi, obviously being forced here against his will. He then let out a loud sigh and dropped to the ground, sitting before Riley and offering her a bow.

"Lady Riley, as head of the Uzumaki clan, I Sasuke Uchiha, have formally come to ask for your blessing in approaching Karin Uzumaki, for her hand in marriage." Sasuke stated, formally and directly. It quickly dawned on the ladies in the background, that this was formal clan business. Some things may have changed since leaving the Elemental Nations, like for instance most clans weren't such sticklers for tradition anymore, but many still followed some basic protocols.

In this case, while tradition was still being followed, instead of making a formal meeting with Riley, so that they could set a date to meet and have this discussion, they just tracked her down and got it out of the way. Which Riley definitely would appreciate.

Riley stared at Sasuke intently for a few moments, as a grin spread across her face. She then glanced as the giddy form of Karin.

"How far along?" Riley inquired.

"I just found out today." Karin replied, finding it hard not to squeal with joy.

Riley was very hands off in how she handled clan business. She wasn't much for many old traditions, and kept things rather basic, but she could understand that this was business between the Uchiha and the Uzumaki. Two great families with long lineages. While technically speaking, their bloodlines had already merged when Madara and Kaguya had a son, and then again with Minato and Kushina, in both cases that had been an Uchiwa, not one of the Uchiha, so it was still a new joining.

Riley offered the woman a nod and turned her gaze back to Sasuke.

Her smile morphed into a smirk, as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Couldn't hide it from big brother for more then a day?"

"That wasn't my fault. Karin woke the entire compound when she found out. She told everyone between the bathroom and my bedroom. Itachi just so happened to be one of them." Sasuke bit out in response as he sent a glare at his brother and girlfriend. Itachi stared back, still smirking, taking pleasure in Sasuke's discomfort, while Karin was unfazed.

"Well, I'm happy for both of you. I assume you actually want to get married?" Riley inquired, earning an emphatic nod from Karin, while Sasuke let out a sigh, but then nodded.

Riley knew where his displeasure stemmed from. Sasuke Uchiha was a perfectionist, and liked to have things done in a specific order, at a specific time, and in a specific way. He was not one for surprises if he could help it. That wasn't to say that Sasuke didn't want to marry his girlfriend, but he had probably preferred to do things at his own pace, but with a baby on the way, he wasn't about to dance around the issue. If his hand was being forced, he'd take responsibility.

His exasperation at being dragged here by his kinsmen to make sure he didn't procrastinate, was probably something that added to his discomfort.

"You care for her?" Riley inquired.

"I do." Sasuke responded.

"You'll raise this child, teach it right from wrong, be a decent father?" Riley asked.

"I will." Sasuke again responded, not looking away from Riley's gaze.

"You swear that no matter what happens between you and Karin, you'll always take care of your child?" Riley asked one final time.

"I'm not going to walk out on my child. This baby will be one of the first steps in rebuilding our clan. Uchiha, Uchiwa, it doesn't matter to me. Both sides of our family were nearly driven to extinction. The Uzumaki are a part of this too. I plan on seeing to it that this baby makes it to adulthood, and lives a long and happy life." Sasuke stated, a small amount of passion sneaking into his words as he tried to remain cool and aloof.

In the background, Naruko smirked at her longtime best-friend and rival.

Riley stared at him intently for several long moments before nodding.

"Alright then. I consent to this match and offer my blessings. I hope you two are very happy together. I assume you brought him here because you consent as well?" Riley turned her gaze to Itachi. The man in question offered her a nod.

"Yes. I'm happy to see my little brother starting a family. I wish he were a bit older, but I guess when you put an Uchiha and an Uzumaki together, responsible decisions are not as likely to happen." Itachi noted, earning a chuckle from his kinsmen, and an outright laugh from Shisui.

"Yeah, come on Sasuke, didn't your sensei teach you that only fools don't wrap their tools?" Shisui inquired, earning a glare from Sasuke.

"Don't blame me. She's the reason we ran out." Sasuke jerked his thumb at Karin, whom blushed and looked away. All the while fixing her glasses as she tried to hide said blush.

"Condoms? You didn't just use a jutsu? Or a spell? Or just pulled out?" Riley inquired as she covered Boruto's ears with her hands.

Sasuke just stared at her, and again jerked his thumb accusingly at Karin. Riley sent a glance at her, and smirked.

"Uzumaki are quite wild. I honestly never wanted to know what Professor Snape looked like after a night of passionate love making, but thanks to my mother and her Uzumaki lust, she left the poor man unable to even speak straight." Riley stated, as Karin turned even redder.

"You're one to talk Riley." Katie called out to her, earning a playful grin from Riley.

"You love it." Riley called back, causing Katie to make a face, to hide her own minor blush at the implication of that rebuttal.

"Well. We should celebrate. Let's all go play a drinking game. We'll guess the positions these two have tried, and every time Karin blushes, we take a shot." Riley offered, earning cheers from some of Itachi's kinsmen, which were quickly silenced when he sent a glance back at them.

"See that's a trap. Given the fact this poor bastard hasn't left his room in twelve hours, I'm guessing we'll all be suffering from cirrhosis of the liver within ten minutes." Shisui responded, earning a shake of the head from Itachi, and a glare from Karin and Sasuke.

"Hey! I don't like what you're insinuating there." Karin hissed causing Shisui to smirk.

"I insinuate nothing. I was just pointing out that you were keeping little Sasuke here quite busy since he came back from his mission." Shisui responded, and then quickly jumped away as Karin went after him.

"Family's growing." Riley noted earning a pleasant smile from Itachi. "How does that sound Boruto? Would you like a new friend to spend time with?"

The baby of course didn't answer. He was more interested in grasping at the long strands of dark hair that framed Riley's face, and tickled at the baby's head.

**-Riley's Home, London. July 25th 1998-**

Katie pressed a hand over her mouth to muffle her cry of pleasure. She could feel Riley's whole body pressed against her, her lover's large breasts, pressed against her back. Katie was on her knees, with Riley taking her ass from behind. One of Riley's arms held Katie tightly to her, as she roughly and passionately fondled Katie's breasts, while the other hand was occupied with Katie's pussy.

Katie was doing her best to avoid waking the others, as she and Riley made love. A unique development in returning home after the war. Despite living together, the days of all of them engaging in group orgies had dwindled down to maybe once or twice every two weeks or so. They all had schedules now, and for each one, it was different. Nowadays there were very few times when the harem had the following morning free, and could stay up late enjoying a passionate night. Most of the time nowadays, Riley would have sex with maybe one or two of them every night, and occasionally when she was in the mood, or when she had a sexual episode, she would drag them all into **Kamui** and have sex with them there, so that they could return and still get the required amount of sleep and rest, to recover from the night's activities.

With that in mind, Katie was trying to be quiet. She knew she wasn't doing a very good job, though luckily, some of her fellow mates, were deep sleepers. Others though, weren't. Her eyes briefly flickered to Fleur's slumbering form. She knew the Veela wasn't a very deep sleeper and a loud moan or even too much movement on the bed, would wake her.

Luckily, magic was quite useful in the manipulation of certain factors, and Katie had done her best to ensure that her fellows weren't disturbed by their raunchy love-making.

She clamped her lips shut as she felt her release build to it's climax.

Partway through the throws of pleasure, Katie felt Riley release into her, cumming hard and releasing a muffled moan of sweet bliss, and hugging Katie close with both arms as she filled her insides.

Now being supported by Riley, Katie wrapped both her hands around her mouth to stop the scream of pleasure that nearly tore out of her mouth. The pleasurable magics accompanying Riley's release, always intensified the experience, and in most cases, could cause her to climax, just from that alone. Adding it onto her own release, was quite frankly the most wonderful experience, Katie could name.

She had shut her eyes and stiffened as she rode out the waves of pleasure that flowed through her body. As she was coming down from the throes of pleasure she heard a musical giggle, that was oh so familiar.

Before Katie could open her eyes, she felt soft lips brush the back of her hand. She smiled, while keeping her eyes shut. She knew that her attempts to remain quiet had failed, and that a certain someone had been stirred from her restful slumber.

Katie removed her hands from her mouth and let out a gentle sigh. Within a moment, she felt gentle breath brush against her lips. Katie leaned forward, allowing her lips to meet with Fleur's the two kissing gently, and passionately, while Riley watched.

The two held the kiss for several long seconds, their tongues intertwining in a passionate wrestle to claim the others mouth. Finally Katie pulled back and opened her eyes, meeting with Fleur's vibrant blues eyes staring back at her.

"There is somezing so carnal about you when you're like zis. Like a wild animal..." Fleur noted, earning a minor blush from Katie as she brushed some of her long brunette locks over her shoulder and away from her face.

"Before you even say, 'don't blame me', I just want to remind you that I've seen you masturbate, you don't need me or anyone else to get you to act like this." Riley stated, just as Katie was about to respond.

Katie's mouth clamped shut as she allowed her head to fall slightly, and her hair to fall forward and obscure her face.

"It is nothing to be ashamed of my love. You are wild and passionate in ze bedroom. I love zat about you." Fleur stated as she reached through Katie's hair and took her chin in her delicate fingers. She guided Katie back up so that the two were face to face again, and Fleur quickly closed the gap and kissed her once more.

Katie smiled into the kiss, and then proceeded to moan as Riley started to thrust into her again.

The two separated, as Katie let out a pleasured sigh.

"You just can't get enough, can you Riley?" Katie inquired, while wiggling her ass, earning a smirk from her demonic lover as she continued to thrust into her.

"Of your sexy ass? Not in a thousand lifetimes will I be bored with it." Riley responded as she wrapped her arms around Katie, seizing her breasts in both hands and pulling her up to press against Riley.

"You want in?" Riley inquired, glancing at Fleur as she proceeded to kiss at Katie's neck.

Fleur stared back for several moments, wondering if she should or not. She entertained the thought for just long enough so that she could later convince herself that she wasn't as much of a sex-fiend as Riley or Katie was. Fleur had her pride, and she hated the stereotype that Veela were all sluts. But in many cases it wasn't just a stereotype. If a Veela found the right partner, she'd almost never turn down sex, and if that Veela was with her soul mate, then 'almost never', turned into 'never'.

Still Fleur belonged to a proud highborn lineage, and she wasn't just going to jump into a sexual encounter like a bitch in heat. Despite wanting too. Fleur secretly hoped that she had been wrong about Riley's ability to read her mind. Not that she had much to hide, but she didn't want her beloved mate to know just how much she craved her touch, especially now.

Fleur was twenty-one by this point in time, and she was at the beginning of her kinds breeding age. Most Veela could live for about a hundred-and-seventy years or so, and around the time they turned twenty is when they started their breeding cycles and could start reproducing. Veela were not overly fertile, so they had sex quite often during this time, and Fleur knew that very soon it wouldn't just be Riley's desire to reproduce that drove their sex life, but Fleur's own instincts urging her to mother as many offspring as she could with her powerful mate.

Fleur desperately did not want anyone to know how much she wanted to be in Katie's place right now. If anyone knew, to the exact level that Fleur desired such things, they'd probably see her differently.

After allowing several long moments of contemplation to pass, Fleur accepted, knowing full well she wouldn't have been able to sleep had she chosen not too.

She intended to do as she always had, acting the part of sensual expert, and handling this with all the grace she had been trained with as a girl. But before she could move, one of Riley's tails shot forward seizing the front of Fleur's panties and tearing them off, earning a startled gasp from both Fleur and Katie.

Riley's tail then brushed against the entrance to Fleur's cunt, running along it, and enticing it's wetness to spread.

Fleur let out a small moan of pleasure as she felt magic course through Riley's tail and pass into her body, causing her to grow an eight inch long cock.

Fleur eyed the large erection with surprise before turning her gaze to Riley.

Riley returned her surprise with a predatory smirk and moved her arms underneath Katie, scooping her up while she continued to thrust into her ass.

Holding her up, Riley presented the Gryffindor's cunt for Fleur to take if she wanted it.

Katie must have realized this because she blushed brightly, and almost looked like she was suddenly feeling shy.

It took a moment, but Fleur's surprise faded and she crawled forward. Gently and passionately she inserted her cock into Katie's waiting entrance, and pressed her lips to the Gryffindor's neck.

The two separated after a moment as Katie let out a mewl of pleasure. Fleur smiled and pulled herself tight up against Katie's body, sandwiching her between her and Riley. She then leaned over Katie's shoulder, meeting Riley in a passionate kiss, as the two proceeded to take Katie for all that she was worth.

All Katie could do was wrap her arms around the Veela and kiss at her neck as she tried in vain to muffle her moans once more.

Several hours later, and Daphne found her eyes sliding open to reveal the darkened ceiling of her bedroom.

The scent of sex, caught her attention immediately, but she chose not to dwell on it. She had things to do this morning, and she needed to get ready.

There was a weight across her chest, and she could feel someone's body tucked against her. Shifting herself to get a better view, Daphne was able to spot the top of Luna's head. The Ravenclaw was tucked into her side, one arm draped across Daphne's chest.

Daphne allowed a small smile to spread across her face. In private, she was alright with intimate contact, even from one of her fellow mates, and Luna was simply such a sweetheart that none of them had the heart to deny the young woman, the contact she desired.

Once, not that long ago, Katie and Daphne had, had a discussion about Luna's apparent need to be in physical contact with others, all the time. They discussed it at length for nearly an hour when Riley popped by, overheard what they were discussing and offered up her own opinion.

Riley had told them that she suspected it had to do with the death of Luna's mother when she was just a little girl. She lost her mother, and since then, craved physical contact from feminine sources. When she cuddled with them, it was less to do with sex or romance, and more to do with seeking comfort from a mother.

Both of them found themselves agreeing with Riley in that respect. From that point onward, Daphne never so much as hesitated to allow Luna some form of physical contact. She only regretted that she was so weary of public displays of affection, in the early parts of their relationship, because now, Luna knew who to go to for such contact, and sadly, Daphne was not one of those people. At least not out in the open.

Daphne didn't like that about herself. She didn't like that she gave off that aura to one of the people she cared so much about. In many ways, her fellow mates weren't just her friends or her lovers, they were much closer then that, and when one of them hurt, they all hurt.

Daphne smiled lightly and ran a hand over Luna's bangs. She then whispered to Riley over their bond, drawing movement from her demonic mate.

Riley was laying behind Luna, cuddled up to someone, it looked like Kaede. She glanced over and slid an arm around Luna, pulling her away from Daphne, and into her side. Luna accepted the movement and cuddled into Riley's embrace, while Daphne took the opportunity to get out of bed.

It was still pitch black out, but the sun would be rising soon.

Daphne sent a mental thanks to Riley as she grabbed some clothes and darted into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Riley merely hummed in response, pulling Luna and Kaede closer to her, and drawing in their warmth, and their dreams.

With the contact came the mental bond, which showed Riley what was playing out in her beloved mate's minds.

Kaede's dream was rather lighthearted, and simply involved her chasing and being unable to catch her dog.

Meanwhile Luna's dream involved some strange creature, that was seemingly made of different animal parts, and it was playing a kazoo.

Riley chose to block out both of them, before she grew too ingrained it whatever they were dreaming of. Instead she filled her mind with plans for the coming day. What she would do, and how she'd go about doing it.

Several hours passed as her mates rose to get ready for their days. Soon it was just Riley and Luna, still laying in bed. Both spent a few hours cuddled up next to one another, just walking about things and occasionally listening to the radio.

It was around noon by the time the two rose and entered the bathroom to get ready for the day.

The two found themselves in the bath, Luna laying against Riley, while the two soaked in the warm water.

"Fleur wants to have a baby." Luna noted out of the nowhere.

"I know." Riley responded with a smile as she gently played with Luna's wet hair.

"Why don't you give her one?" Luna inquired.

"She wants to be married first." Riley replied.

"Then marry her." Luna stated, causing Riley's smile to grow.

"I plan on it. We've been working on planning the date, but she can't decide what she would like more. A summer wedding, a fall wedding, a winter wedding." Riley said to her as she ran her nails along the back of Luna's neck.

"Are you putting the onus on her to make the decision? What do you want?" Luna asked.

"I want to marry her. And I want her to have her dream wedding. Daph was really hands off with it, because she's like me. She didn't care about how we were married, only that we were. Daphne never cared for a dream wedding. She never thought she'd get one anyway. But Fleur… Fleur's always wanted her perfect dream wedding. She never thought she'd get it either, but then she found me. Learned that I was her mate, and now, not only does she have her soul mate, but the chance to have the dream wedding she's always wanted. I don't care where we go. I don't care what we do. If she wants to be married in a grand cathedral with both of us dressed to our best, or if she wants to elope naked in the woods and have some faerie folk marry us. Either way, I'd be happy." Riley answered her.

"You don't have a dream wedding?" Luna inquired.

"No. I don't care how it happens. I'll remember it for the rest of my life. No matter how big or small. I wont force her to choose. Whatever Fleur wants, she'll get. And I'll be happy. If that means I have to wait a bit longer so that we can start our family, and finally tie the knot, then that's fine. I've got all the time in the world after all." Riley replied to her question, kissing the back of Luna's head as she did.

Luna smiled at that, and snuggled closer to Riley, if such a thing was even possible.

"So I take it that I should start planning our wedding then? So that when the time comes, I know exactly what I want." Luna stated after a few quiet seconds.

"I'd appreciate it. Got any ideas so far?" Riley asked in reply.

"That 'eloping naked in the woods' sounds tempting." Luna answered, earning her a giggle from Riley.

The two were quiet for several long moments when Riley suddenly felt something. Her senses picked up a surge of demonic energy.

Luna felt Riley shift and turned herself to face Riley.

"A demon just awoke. No… a half-demon. In the U.S..." Riley stated as she rose to her feet.

"Just like the Darkness. It might be one of yours." Luna stated as she stared up at Riley.

"Maybe. I need to go and check. I'll be back." Riley stated as clothes materialized around her body, and she shot into the air, disappearing through the ceiling like it wasn't even there.

"_Stay safe_." Luna whispered over their mental bond as Riley flew away, racing across the ocean towards the continental United States.

It had been over a year since Riley had encountered or searched for any of her missing children. Now another was possibly present, and using it's demonic powers. This half-demon was strong. Very strong. Strong enough that she could feel it from a half a world away. Riley focused and concentrated on closing the distance towards it's location.

She could feel it, coming from the heartland of the U.S. Somewhere in the middle of the country, a half-demon was unleashing it's power. And Riley intended to find it.

Within seconds she was crossing over the mainland of the U.S.

Within another few seconds she was slowing her speed as she closed in on the demonic presence. Her search brought her to a small collection of mountains, and in the dead center of the half-demons power, sat a large mansion.

Riley focused on it, activating her **Byakugan** and commencing a scan of the building. She intended to find this half-demon and figure out who it was. If it was an enemy, she'd deal with it, and if it was one of her children, then she'd find the reason why they were suddenly unleashing their demonic side.

Either way, Riley's plans for the day had been scrapped. It was time for another adventure.

**-Arklay Mountains, USA, July 25th 1998-**

**-****To Be Continued****-**

_**Alright here's the next chapter, again sorry it took so damn long, I was busy at work with mother's day, and it put me behind. Next chapter will be out before the 31st. I've got myself on a writing schedule now, so hopefully you can expect to see two chapters a month from now on. Thanks again for the patience.**_


	3. 3: Shadows Growing

**Alright time for the next chapter, I hope everyone is ready because as of right now, the story is about to get going for real. We'll be seeing plenty of character interaction and the world itself will start to radically alter and change as the Age of Man comes to an end.**

_**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**_

Chapter 3: Bio-hazard

**July 25th 1998:**

**-Arklay Mountains, U.S.A.-**

Riley's gaze passed through each level of the large mansion. The things she saw within were not exactly what one would call 'normal'.

"**There is very little magic in those reanimated bodies."** Kurama noted, as Riley's eye fell onto a shambling corpse in one of the hallways of the large complex.

As the Fox demon had said, the body held almost no magic within it. Focusing her gaze, Riley could only see the barest hint of magic residing within the cells of the zombie as it slowly dragged itself down the hall.

The body was rotting, and one of it's arms was missing. Quickly descending into that upper level, Riley appeared before the zombie. Now using her normal eyes to look at it, she found that this wasn't some form of necromancy.

The zombie turned towards her and let out a moan of pain as it began to shamble towards her.

"_This thing shouldn't be like this. There is magic animating it, but it's almost like it's passively animating it. Like it's alive as a side-effect of something, rather then the magic being the main cause of it."_ Riley thought to herself and Kurama as the zombie closed in on her.

It reached out for her, grabbing her shoulder and lunching forward. Riley didn't do much as the zombie bit down on her neck. She could hear it's teeth crack and snap as it bit down with all of it's might. It's teeth though, couldn't pierce the Archdemon's flesh.

Riley drilled her fist hard into the zombie's side, shattering most of it's ribs. The creature didn't seem to register the strike at all, and continued to try and gnaw on her flesh.

Curiosity began to fill her, as she pondered this zombie's lack of care. Even Inferi registered damage to their bodies. Despite being undead, they had a minor level of self-preservation instincts.

Feeling the need to experiment Riley straightened the fingers on the hand she had just used to break the zombie's ribs. Using her hand like a blade she pierced into the zombie's side, cutting into it's flesh, pushing her hand past it's shattered ribs. There was very little movement in it's body. It's heart was beating very slowly, almost to the point where the number of beats-per-minute could be counted on two hands.

Riley grasped the beating organ with her hand, crushing it slowly, watching the zombie for any signs of pain. The creature didn't react. It merely continued to bite at her.

By now, it's teeth were broken shards, and it's gums were bloody, and bleeding heavily.

"_You don't require a heart in order to live, yet it's one of your only organs that still works. You've also lost all restraints on your muscles. Your brain isn't stopping your body from hurting itself, hence the broken teeth." _Riley pondered as she removed her hand and this time brought up both hands and placed them on the zombies head. Pulling it back so that she could look it in the face.

The creatures chomped at her and moaned, it's breath wreaking of death and decay. It's eyes were starting to turn a milky white, as it began to rot away.

Using **Legilimency** Riley pushed into it's head. She found no signs of a master. No orders. Nothing that would insinuate that this undead creature was the result of necromancy. All that she found was an almost insatiable desire for flesh. It didn't matter what kind. The creature's only biological imperative now, was to feast.

Retreating from it's mind, Riley offered it a curious look. She then began to apply pressure on it's skull.

Like an empty plastic bottle, the zombie's head collapsed under her strength. It bit and snarled at her the whole time, until finally she heard it's skull pop, and it's brain began to take on the onslaught of pressure.

Almost immediately after that, the creature ceased all movement and went limp. Riley stared at it, holding it up by it's head, as she watched what little magic that lay within it slowly dissipate, signifying that the creature was dead.

Riley dropped the corpse to the ground and stepped over it.

"_Only the head, hmm?"_ Riley pondered as another zombie shambled around the corner. With a halfhearted toss, Riley struck the creature in the skull with a kunai. It fell to the ground and died immediately.

"**They must require their brains in order to function. Everything else is simply unimportant."** Kurama noted with a hum of curiosity.

Riley nodded at that and reactivated her **Byakugan**. She quickly continued her scan of the building, finding many strange things within the mansion itself. Most noteworthy of these strange things, other then the walking dead, were the various rooms that looked to either have no purpose at all, or be filled with traps of some sort, many of which had already been triggered.

Extending her vision downward, she found that the mansion opened up into an underground complex, filled with laboratories and more undead. Alongside them though were various strange creatures, all baring many similarities to the zombies, though not all of them were dead.

Giant spiders, giant snakes, giant plants… the place reminded her of one of Orochimaru's workshops.

Racing through the complex, Riley spotted several people making a break for it. These people weren't dead like the others. They were simply muggles, they looked like soldiers of some sort, or perhaps police.

They were being chased by a strange monster. It looked like a man, but it stood nearly eight and a half feet tall. It's skin was grey and a pulsating organ could be seen emerging from it's chest. One of it's arms had also mutated gaining a large claw. It chased after the few muggles, with the apparent intent to murder them.

Riley made a mental note to deal with it before it escaped, but made no move to help the fleeing muggles. For all she knew, they had created the thing, so it was no skin off her nose it they died to it. Instead she searched for the source of the demonic power that had drawn her here. It took a few moments, but she was able to locate it within the bowels of the complex.

Activating her intangibility Riley glided down through the floors and entered into a small lab. Inside it had been several desks, computers, and rows of what looked like a large glass tubes that had housed something once upon a time. One of these tubes stood out, as it was shattered, glass covering the floor, indicating that something within had broken out.

On the ground, was a man, he was wearing similar tactical gear to the fleeing muggles. He was blonde of hair with pale skin. He was covered in blood and it looked like he had been impaled. If Riley had to guess, it was the large humanoid monster that had done him in.

Demonic energy coursed through him. It was healing his near fatal injury and revitalizing his body.

"**His coils are raw, new. He's never used magic before. Despite that, this one is strong Riley."** Kurama noted as she used her **Byakugan **to watch as the demonic youki flooded his system, repairing the damage and filling his chakra network until it was full to bursting.

A small smile spread across Riley's face as her eyes fell upon the man's magic. His demonic youki was familiar to her. It reminded her of Eleanor and Zabuza. Both of whom had embraced their demonic sides and allowed their youki to overtake the rest of their magical system.

She watched, as his eyes slid open and the wound on his chest, finished healing. He slowly rose to his feet flexing his fingers as he did.

The man's eyes were obscured by sunglasses, but Riley could easily see the red glow that emanated beneath them. The man was momentarily distracted by his own reawakening, but he quickly took note of her presence, his eyes rising to meet with Riley's.

"Feels good doesn't it?" Riley inquired with a smirk.

"Who are you?" The man asked. His eyes stayed locked on her, but they drifted across her body, taking note of all of the strange abnormalities that signaled to him that she was not human.

Atop her head were a set of silvery horns. Her skin was a palish gray. What looked like tails could be seen swaying by her feet. Riley's wings were retracted into the form of a long coat, similar to the one worn by Minato Namikaze. This coat though was all black, and Riley used her magic to obscure the true form of her altered wings, so that the blackness of the coat did not twinkle with starlight. The man's eyes quickly returned to Riley's and he found himself taking note of the strange patterned eyes, and their purple hue that made him feel much smaller then he had ever felt.

"My name is Riley. Riley Narumi Gryffindor Slytherin Ravenclaw Uzumaki Senju Uchiwa Black." Riley offered with a polite bow. The man tilted his head at her, taking note of all of her last names, and her distinctive accent, which sounded British but there was something off about it. Most likely that had something to do with some of her obvious Asian traits.

"I see. If you'll excuse me. I have some business to attend to." The man stated as he turned towards a computer console.

Riley stood patiently while the man typed some things on the computer. Through nearby speakers she heard a recorded female voice declare that a self-destruct system had been engaged and that all personnel should evacuate.

"Damn. You will pay for this, my lady." The man stated as he drove his fist into the monitor of the computer, smashing it into smithereens.

Riley stared at him for a moment before a hiss caught her ear. She turned, just in time to see some sort of creature come rushing at her from the darkness.

This creature looked to be a crossbreed between a human and a fly. It was all black, with fly-like wings, and walked on multiple legs. It was vaguely humanoid, but obviously a mutant of some sort. (**1*)**

It came barreling towards her. She heard the man turn and draw his pistol, aiming it at the creature.

Riley shifted, right as the beast reached her, and with a smirk, she kicked it square in the chest, sending it careening across the room. Right into the far wall. The wall panels buckled from the force and the creature went limp. Another creature came rushing at Riley from the side. It leaped at her, intent on slashing her with it's arms. Riley swatted the blow with her hand and seized the creature by the face. Lifting it into the air with one hand, with a twitch of her wrist, she jerked it's head sideways, severing it's spine and causing it to go limp.

She then casually tossed it aside and turned back to the man. Just as she did, another similar creature fell from the ceiling. It jumped at her, but before it could close the distance, one of her tails lashed out and split it in half, almost perfectly, right down them middle.

"Amazing… Such power." The man stated as he allowed himself to relax.

"You'll find these simple creatures are nothing compared to me. Or you for that matter." Riley stated.

"Is that so?" The man inquired, sounding almost amused. "You said your name was Riley? I am Albert Wesker."

"Albert Wesker. It's a pleasure. You and I have much to discuss." Riley offered as more of those creatures burst into the room from the door.

Wesker watched her as she threw her hand in the direction of the door, sending a glowing aura of energy racing away, as if she had just pitched something. It struck the center most creature and what followed was a huge shower of blood.

"How did you do that?" Wesker asked, very much intrigued by what he was seeing.

"Magic." Riley responded with a smirk.

The man stared at her for a moment, his eyes narrowing. "A non-believer, or a man of science?" Riley asked, sensing that he didn't believe her.

"Both." He responded, earning a laugh from Riley.

Riley continued to laugh for several moments. Again the door burst open, and two more of those human-fly hybrids rushed in.

Intent on proving her point, Riley extended her hand. The two creature were halted in their movement and lifted into the air.

"As a man of science, you trust what your eyes can see. Allow me to show you that magic is real." Riley offered as she drew her wand. With a slashing motion, Riley unleashed a **Cutting** curse that cut off one of the creature's legs. She then pointed her wand at it, and fired a **Skin Melting **curse at it.

Albert Wesker watched with fascination as the exoskeleton of the Chimera type B.O.W. bubbled off it's body. Within moments, bones, organs, and muscle, fell to the floor in a fleshy pool.

The other chimera hissed with rage as Riley turned towards it. She slowly approached it, making motions with her wand, causing it's individual limbs to snap off and go flying across the room. Soon it was left nothing more then a body and a head. Drawing a line across it's mid section with her wand, Riley turned towards Wesker and offered him a smirk.

He watched as the Chimera split in half, or more so, it's exoskeleton split, as did it's bones and muscles. He watched as the lower half of the creature, slowly sunk to the ground while the upper half lifted up to the ceiling. Connecting the two sides was a long string of intestines.

The way they moved, defied gravity, and he watched with rapt attention as Riley brought up her wand and tapped it to the intestine. He watched as the flesh became covered in scales, and the upper half detached. It fell down to the floor before rising back up, a hiss, emanating from it.

Much to his amazement, she had turned the creature's intestines into a boa constrictor.

"Have I made a believer of you yet?" Riley inquired.

Wesker stared at the snake for a moment. Then another. Finally he turned his eyes to hers and delivered a very Daphne-like smirk. "It would seem we do have much to discuss."

"Good to hear. Shall we depart?" Riley inquired.

"Yes. We'll need to move quickly if we are to make it out in time." Wesker stated.

"No need to worry." Riley stated as she offered him her hand. He stared at it for a moment, obviously wondering what she intended. After several moments of contemplation, he took it. Once she felt him grasping her hand, Riley held him tight and lifted into the air. Much to the man's amazement and amusement they floated up through the levels of the facility until they were passing through the mansion and then finally they were outside, lifting high into the air.

"The ability to fly, as well as intangibility, can be quite useful at times." She said to him as they drifted away from the mansion.

Wesker nodded at that.

A few moments later and Riley set down about a half-mile away from the mansion. They could still see it in the distance. Deciding another showing would be fun, Riley held up her hand, and formed a powerful Fireball. Wesker eyed the ball of flame that formed in Riley's hand. Riley then turned and started away from the mansion, casually tossing the orb over her shoulder as she did.

It flew high up into the sky before arcing down towards the mansion. Wesker watched as it descended, and his eyes widened in amazement as it slammed into the roof of the mansion. For a moment nothing happened, then the entire mansion erupted in a massive explosion. It wasn't controlled or directed in any way that would indicate that it was the facility's self-destruct. No, this explosion lit up the sky, setting hundreds of surrounding trees aflame.

The entire mansion was vaporized by the explosion, not even wood fragments from it's exterior, survived. With a casual wave of her hand, this woman had destroyed the entire mansion complex, as if it was nothing.

"_Much to discuss indeed."_ Wesker thought to himself as he turned and followed after her.

The two of them walked in silence for several long minutes before finally they reached a small hill that offered them a look over the mountains. In the distance, disappearing over the horizon they both spotted a helicopter, heading away from them.

"Hmm… so they survived." Wesker noted aloud.

"Friends of yours?" Riley inquired.

"You could say that. I am happy they survived. I look forward to our tear-filled reunion." Wesker responded in a drawl, almost Lucius-like manner.

Riley could tell just from his tone of voice, that this reunion was not exactly going to be the happy kind. Not that Riley really cared. This was her child. If she was right, based off his hair, and the way he had smirked earlier, Riley would venture to guess that he was hers and Daphne's.

"**Wow… what is that three for her now? Who would have thought that Daphne would be the one with so many kids? We still haven't found any for Fleur yet. Three for Daphne, two for Katie, one for Luna, one for Gaia, and one for Kaede."** Kurama noted.

"_Yeah… I'm just as surprised as you are. Daph being the one with all the babies, is really surprising. My money was on Fleur, or Kaede."_ Riley thought back.

"Well I'm sure when the time comes you'll get that chance." Riley responded as she turned to him. She offered him a once over noting the blood stains on his uniform, and around his mouth.

With a wave of her hand, she scourgified him. Removing the blood.

"What did you just do?" He asked.

"Removed the blood stains. Blood is a bitch to clean." Riley answered with a chuckle as she stepped to the side. Wesker glanced down at his chest, noting that the blood stain was now absent, as if it had never been there to begin with. After a moment he followed closely behind her. The two arrived at a set of logs which, without so much as a gesture, Riley transfigured into wooden chairs.

"Have I done enough to convince you?" Riley inquired as she sat in one of the chairs and offered him the other.

Wesker stared at it for a moment before reaching out to touch it. Feeling the wood beneath his finger-tips sealed it completely for him. There was something at work here. Something that he had once thought no more then a child's fairy-tale.

"Where to begin?" Riley stated as Wesker sat in the offered chair. He removed his sunglasses and stared at his own reflection on the lenses.

He could see his own glowing red eyes. And he could feel the power that was coursing through his body. Before he had been stabbed, he had injected himself with an experimental virus, given to him by probably the only man in the world, Wesker would call a friend. He knew the virus had been responsible for his return to the living, and that it was fueling him now. He was quite curious to test what his body could do now, but his curiosity in that regard was almost non-existent when compared to the vast world of mystery he had just been introduced too.

Magic.

The idea alone was preposterous and yet. Here sat a practitioner. Albert Wesker had no answer for the things he had seen her do. But he intended to get some.

His eyes drifted to the inside of one side of the glasses. The logo of the company he had worked for, for most of his life, resided there. With a devilish smirk, he crushed the glasses in his hand and tossed their remains away.

He may have been denied most of the research data from the facility, but now, sitting before him, was a possible treasure trove of information he was quite certain his former colleagues had no way of knowing.

"Tell me about this magic." Wesker asked as he turned his eyes towards her.

"Magic is a difficult thing to explain. The easiest way, is to simply say that it is the see-all, end-all, of existence. All things in creation came from it. Be it time. Space. The physical realm. Matter in general. From magic, all things came. That is the easiest way of explaining the force that we're dealing with here." Riley offered earning a nod from the man.

"I assume there are others like you. Practitioners of magic." He stated, earning a light chuckle from Riley.

"There are no others like me. Of course there are people who practice magic. But none of them are me. I am to them, as you are to an ant. And I mean as you are now." Riley responded. She could tell the man was very interested in what she was saying.

He was a man who craved power, and he respected it. Yes, she'd get along splendidly with this child.

"By your own admission, you're a man of science. I'm assuming that means you've heard of the multi-verse?" Riley inquired, earning a nod from him.

"Well to a certain extent, it's true. There are alternate timelines, and realities, similar to our own, with different permutations for every possible outcome. None of these timelines intersect however. All of them start at the beginning and will end at the end. There are no branches, no spider web of possibilities. There is only the different times. Like going from one race track to another. In another time, you and your siblings were attacked when you were children. One of your sisters has the ability to open tears between one reality and into another. Without meaning too, she sent you and your siblings to other times, creating new timelines, where you naturally existed there. Your sister came to me and asked that I reunite all of you." Riley explained to him.

"And why would you agree to that?" Wesker asked.

In response, Riley's jacket peeled off her body and unfolded into her wings. Wesker's eyes widened as the two sets of wings formed and stretched out, while Riley smirked at him. "Because in the timeline you came from, I was one of your parents."

Wesker was silent as he stared at her wings. He was silent for several long seconds as he digested this information. This could possibly be the answer to one of his oldest questions. Slowly he reached for one of the pockets on his vest.

Riley's smile grew. She knew full well what he was reaching for. "That version of me, gave each of her babies one of her feathers. It glows with a dim fire, and for reasons you don't understand, you can't seem to lose it. Despite what you claimed to believe, I knew you had some suspicions about magic. After all, this defies science, so what else is there?"

Confirming her suspicions, Wesker removed a small black feather from one of his vest pockets. This feather looked just like her old wings, and was just like the rest of the feathers shared by her children. She wondered if the change in her wings was a sign that she was different from the Riley that had helped to sire or birth all of them, or if that meant she would change her wing's appearance in the future. It was an interesting thought.

To further prove her point, Riley reached out with one of her tails and allowed the end of it to hover near the feather, causing it to glow brightly with fire.

"I was born human. But I gave that up, when I was little more then a child. Here I stand now, a full-blooded demon. You are my son. A half-demon. When you arose from your near death state, your demonic half is what repaired most of the damage. I can feel something has been done to your human half, and now both parts are working in tandem to make you stronger then ever before. I felt you awakening, and now I'm here to offer you a place in this world. I can help you. I can teach you about yourself, show you how to wield magic and use it for your own designs. I can aid you in your goals if you so desire. If you'll allow me, I will show you the true extent of your powers." Riley offered to him, her own eyes bleeding red as she spoke.

"I suspect this will be the start of a very interesting relationship." Wesker noted after a moment. Riley allowed herself to chuckle at that. Much like Zabuza, this man didn't need parents. What he needed was answers, answers to questions that had plagued him since his birth. That was fine by her. So long as her children were happy, it didn't matter what they needed from her.

**-Land of Wind, Elemental Nations. July 28th 1998- **

Kankuro no Subaku stood over the corpses of a dozen bodies. The scent of death, permeated the room. Were he not a veteran shinobi, he'd have gone stumbling out of the room, gagging and vomiting, at the sight and smell of the horror around him.

"They left their mark again." A Suna Jonin stated as he approached Kankuro.

"Send word to the Kazekage. Let her know that the unknowns have struck again." Kankuro commanded as his eyes locked on the far wall of the room.

Drawn in dried brown blood, was a crooked warning. 'We will rise.' written there.

His colleague nodded and left the room, while Kankuro continued to glare. Someone was making a play for power, and he had a sneaking suspicion of who it was.

**-Sunagakure Elemental Nations-**

"They've struck again." A Suna ninja reported to Gaia.

"I see." Gaia responded, her face impassive, and her eyes cold and calculating.

"Lord Kankuro believes it's the work of Iwa rebels. He thinks the ones who abandoned the village before we attacked, are returning now with the intent to free their subservient brothers-in-arms and gain revenge on us." The Suna ninja added, earning a nod from Gaia.

"Send word to Kankuro. Tell him he is to return to Suna for a debriefing." Gaia commanded. She earned a nod and bow from the man as he turned and left the room.

Standing by her side was the Third Kazekage, who's gaze matched her own.

"It took them a while." He noted after a moment of silence.

"Nearly eight-thousand Iwa ninja disappeared without a trace before the fall of Iwagakure. They took with them the last of Iwa's war golems, as well as a multitude of important scrolls and documents. Many of their village's secrets lay within those scrolls. We knew they'd be planning something. We knew they'd come back." Gaia responded, a hard look in her eyes.

"And now they've turned their blades on innocent civilians. These aren't rebels. They're terrorists. Violent, murderous, psychopaths. They must be hunted down and destroyed." The Third stated, earning a nod of agreement from Gaia.

"Once Kankuro returns I will put him in charge of a task-force. This group will be put in charge of hunting down and destroying these criminals. I will also send an inquiry to Kumogakure and Kirigakure. We'll see if they've noticed any strange activity in their own countries." Gaia informed him.

"You think these terrorists are planning something for them as well?" The Third inquired, sending a look towards her.

"No. But I wouldn't be surprised if they've recruited some help from rogue elements within those countries." Gaia responded.

"I see. A wise course of action then." The Third stated with a nod.

"Send for Lady Yugito. I have a request of her." Gaia commanded one of her Anbu. Giving a nod, the kunoichi vanished from sight.

A few moments later and Yugito Nii was standing before Gaia. In had been nearly two months since the woman came to live in Suna. This was part of her circulation as ambassador, she would be stationed out of Suna for five months, then five months in Britain and then return to Kumo for the remaining two months, before restarting the cycle.

"Lady Kazekage." Yugito offered in greeting.

"Lady Yugito. As our ambassador from Kumo, I have an inquiry I'd like made with the Raikage. The Iwa rebels have struck again. This time killing over a dozen innocent civilians. I'm forming a task-force to hunt them down, and I'd like to see about sharing information with Kumo. I'm sending an envoy there tomorrow, and I wanted to ask if you'd oversee the mission, and return with the Raikage's answer." Gaia explained.

"Of course, Lady Kazekage. I'll see to it that the Raikage is made aware of the situation. Was there anything in particular you wanted to know?" Yugito inquired.

"I simply need for them to be aware of the situation. And to keep an eye open on their own nations. I wouldn't put it past these rebels to try and gather support from rogue factions within your own borders." Gaia explained, earning a nod of understanding from Yugito.

"You can inform the Raikage that I'll be sending word to Kiri as well. And I'll also send a message to Britain, letting them know of the situation here. If things begin to escalate, this situation may call for the formation of a joint task-force." Gaia added, earning another nod.

"I'll make sure that the Raikage and the Kumo council are aware of the severity of the situation. I'll be ready to depart with your men by tomorrow. Was there anything else?" Yugito responded.

"No. You're free to leave." Gaia answered, and as quick as she appeared, Yugito turned and left.

"We need to put an end to this quickly. I will not have the hard-fought peace we've established, end after barely a year of existence." Gaia stated to her predecessor.

"I agree." The man responded. A cold, calculating gaze, marring his face.

**-Sunagakure, Elemental Nations. July 30th 1998-**

It was early in the morning when the Kazekage was drawn from her sleep by the feeling of a hand sliding beneath her shirt.

She caught the hand, as her eyes snapped open, and a playful giggle filled the air.

"Jumpy?" Riley inquired, her **Rinne Sharingan** glowing dimly in the darkness of the room.

Gaia let out a sigh as she released Riley's hand. A moment passed as Riley resumed her advance, taking Gaia's breast in her hand and sensually fondling it, her thumbs drifting across the nipple, causing it to stiffen.

"You know you could always show up before I go to sleep." Gaia noted as Riley lifted her shirt and began to kiss at her belly.

"True, but then I couldn't fill your dreams with such pleasure." Riley responded, as she continued to kiss her way lower and lower.

Again Gaia sighed and this time she sat up and scooted out from under Riley. When Riley moved to pursue her goal, she placed a hand on her face and locked eyes with her.

"We have some things we need to talk about." Gaia declared, earning a pouting face from Riley.

"Can it wait?" Riley asked, undressing her mate with her eyes.

"Riley… I know it isn't your favorite thing in the world, but for just a moment, can you pretend to be an adult?" Gaia responded.

"Ouch. Alright, alright. I get it. Business before pleasure." Riley stated with a sigh of her own. One of her tails reached out and clicked on a small lamp, set next to Gaia's bed. The lamp dimly lit the room, as Riley shifted herself to the opposite side of the bed. Due to Gaia's bed being in the corner of the room, Riley was able to sit against the wall.

"A part of me wants to chastise you for pouting, but I can't help but find it flattering." Gaia noted as she positioned herself so that she was sitting next to Riley. Both of them now staring out over the empty room.

"It helps that it's not exactly childish to pout about getting blue-balled." Riley joked, earning a snort of amusement from Gaia.

"I assume you arrived here early because the Lord-Commander got my message?" Gaia stated after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah. He told me about it. I wanted to see how you were doing. Ask if you needed any help?" Riley informed her as she turned her gaze towards Gaia.

"I think we can handle it for now. But I appreciate your concern and I still have your kunai if I need to call you here quickly." Gaia responded, earning a nod from Riley.

"We'll find these bastards. We'll deal with them, and then the Elemental Nations can finally know peace." Riley stated.

"I know we will. It's just a matter of time." Gaia agreed.

A few moments of silence passed as the two woman stared at each other. Finally Riley smiled. "I found another one of my kids."

Gaia's eyes widened in surprise at hearing that.

"Really?" Gaia asked of her.

"Yes. His name is Albert Wesker. He's a virologist, formerly a member of the pharmaceutical company, Umbrella." Riley offered.

"A virologist? I assume that means he studies disease?" Gaia inquired.

"He does. Even helped to design a couple of nasty ones. He's one of Daph's kids. Cold. Calculating. Ruthless. Highly trained. A skilled fighter, on top of the multiple doctorates. A prodigy, if I had to put a word to it. I found him when he awakened his demonic power. It surged through him and I felt it from across the sea. I brought him back to Britain, let him meet his family." Riley explained.

"And?" Gaia asked.

"Seems, more intrigued then anything else. If I had to guess, I'd say he was never one for family. He's selfish, like me. He only really cares about his own interests. Much like Zabuza, he's a full grown man. Has his own goals, has his own ambitions. After the touching family reunion, I introduced him to Itachi. After a chat, the Lord-Commander offered him a job with the Legion. Albert accepted the position as the only real other scientist we have working for us is Kabuto Yakushi. So they're working together now. Honestly I think they're in love. Both have a fascination for the others work, and both are very interested in delving into the secrets of the magical world and learning all there is to learn. I don't think Albert's slept since I brought him to Britain." Riley answered.

"I see. Well, I'm happy for you. I hope you and he can develop a working relationship." Gaia offered, earning a gentle smile from Riley.

"I'll be whatever they need me to be. If they need a mother, I'll be their mother. If they need a father, I'll be their father. If they need a friend, I'll be the best friend I can be. And if they need a partner, then I'll raise all sorts of hell with them." Riley stated as she stared off.

Gaia stared at her, obviously very thoughtful, from hearing Riley's reply.

"**She's like that with everyone. Not just her children. Look at her with her mates. She treats them all differently. She is what they need her to be. With little Luna, she's her rock. With you and Daphne, she's your partner. With Fleur she's her true love. She's a chameleon. She adapts to become the best person for each of her loved ones." **Shukaku noted to his host. Gaia subconsciously nodded at that. Kurama also nodded at hearing that. The close proximity allowing both Bijuu to hear the other.

"_It makes me wonder though. She's a chameleon with all of us. So… who is she really, when she's not adapting?"_ Gaia thought back.

"**You know the answer to that already, Gaia."** Shukaku stated after a quiet few moments passed by.

Without meaning too, Gaia felt memories flood to the forefront of her mind. Images of the burning Wind Capital, and of Riley, and her full demon child, butchering the entire invading army. Riley's face twisted in demonic glee as she hunted down the Tsuchikage.

The thought nearly sent a shiver up her spine. She didn't mean to think of Riley that way. She hated when those thoughts came around and painted Riley as a monster, despite the fact that she was a tried and true monster.

"_It's alright my love. I am a monster. You don't need to feel bad about seeing me as one. I just need you to know that I'll never let that monster near you. I'll be whatever makes you happiest, and I'll keep the monster away."_ Riley thought to herself as she heard the thoughts that drifted through Gaia's mind. The two were sitting right next to each other, their arms touching. And with that contact, came the inner voice of her beloved bride-to-be.

The two remained together for the rest of the morning, continuing their discussion as the sun slowly crept over the horizon.

**-Pentref Cysgodian Hud, Britain. July 31st 1998-**

"Fascinating." Albert Wesker hummed to himself as he read through another file. Surrounding his desk were a half dozen stacks of files, all detailing various aspects of magic, or various magical creatures, some even detailed information on Shinobi.

"I've always wondered what it would be like to be an outsider looking it. Most of us have lived with magic our entire lives. Even then, many are simply unable to comprehend the full extent of it's power. I can't imagine what it must be like for you." Kabuto Yakushi stated from his own desk nearby.

Both men were some of the few scientists within the hidden village. That distinction essentially made them heads of the fledgling division. Despite coming from entirely different worlds, both Albert and Kabuto shared a lot in common. Both were skilled fighters. Both were geniuses in their fields. Both were ambitious men. And most importantly, both held an innate desire to explore new areas of science and discovery. To know what others only ever dreamed of knowing.

Both men found they had a bond in their common pursuit of knowledge and power. The Legion wouldn't have been Wesker's first choice for a new home. It wouldn't have even been in his top ten. Had it not been for the revelations he had gained from his sire, he wouldn't have been caught dead in an upstart program such as this.

Of course, now that he was here, Wesker found that he had made the correct choice in agreeing to work for the Legion. It was small, and young, but it did not lack in ambition, power, or resources. Riley was wealthy and was more then happy to donate vast sums of money towards whatever projects her children were working on. When he had inquired about her riches, she had simply smirked and told him that she held both a Philosopher's Stone, and the ability known as the **Creation of All Things Technique**. With the former she could turn any substance into gold. And with the latter she could create anything her mind imagined. While Riley's wealth was finite, she had the ability to create limitless wealth. In truth she actually didn't need to buy most things. She could use her magic to casually make things that were too difficult or expensive to buy, or she could use her immense magical know-how to circumvent technological requirements to create things that she needed.

To prove that money was truly of no issue, when Wesker agreed to join the Legion she donated ten million galleons to their fledgling science division, and ten million to the Legion itself. According to Kabuto, the going exchange rate for Galleons would mean that, that ten million was roughly two-hundred-and-fifty million, in US Dollars. And Riley held hundreds of millions of Galleons from all of her families, as well as the investing done on her behalf by the Gringotts Goblins.

Money truly was of no issue for Riley, and due to her aid in financing the Legion, it truly wanted for very little. If they needed to build new structures or get new equipment, more often then not, they could either just make it with magic, or steal it, because many of them were shinobi and they were good at that.

So despite their organization being small. They had limitless wealth, few moral boundaries, which Wesker appreciated, and they had a very healthy ambition. It came as a surprise when Wesker met the leader of the Legion. A young man who wasn't even twenty-five yet. Itachi Uchiha. A man with an incredibly keen mind. A great deal of patience. And most importantly, a clear understanding that the world was not all sunshine and rainbows. The Legion was an army, and they needed every advantage they could get. Itachi Uchiha was a pacifist whom strongly believed in things like deterrents.

Wesker's great-grandfather, Madara Uchiwa, he was a deterrent. His great-great-grandfather, Hashirama Senju, a deterrent. His great-great-uncle, Tobirama Senju, another deterrent. His own sire, Lady Riley, perhaps the greatest deterrent of them all. The more deterrents they had, the less likely people would rise up to fight them. Itachi understood that all people feared suffering and death. If the possible war was so awful and so terrible that the aggressors couldn't bare to face it, then there would be no war.

Itachi hated war, but he understood that it would happen, whether he wanted it too or not. So the best, most noble, most kind thing he could do, was end it as soon as possible. If all it took was a single act of torment to end the war, Itachi would do it happily. The Americans proved that during WWII. They could have invaded the Japanese mainland and continued the war for months, even years. Or they could slaughter a few hundred thousand civilians in the blink of an eye. Both options were terrible. Both options were inhumane. Both options could be seen as evil. But one of them ended the war immediately.

Two bombs. Two cities. Two hundred and fifty thousand people. Or months of continued bloodshed. Months of horror, death, disease, and further atrocities. It wasn't about right or wrong. Both options were wrong. But one ended the war. That's how Itachi saw. He knew wars would happen. He knew they'd be terrible. So the best way to save lives and end war, was to make the conflict so horrible and painful that the enemy's spirit broke, and they threw down their blades and surrendered, rather then continue to face annihilation. Pride kept wars going. Hope kept wars going. Destroy both, and the enemy would surrender.

Admittedly, this was Itachi's own point of view. One he developed from a childhood of war and fighting. But there was wisdom in it. At least, Wesker thought so. If the Legion was willing to use whatever advantages they could to win the wars as fast as possible, then Wesker would happily oblige them.

Before coming here, Wesker had plans. He had particular goals. Now though… now those plans were on hold. He needed to know the extent of his newfound powers. He needed to know the extent of magic. He needed to know his new limits. Once he did… then he could begin his work once more. Then he could rise out of the shadows of his former employers like a phoenix reborn.

**-Kamui, August 5th 1998-**

The blow came swiftly and Wesker let out a snarl as he dropped to a knee. He heard footsteps racing towards him, and quickly threw back his head to avoid a kick from his younger half-sister Eleanor.

In a swift motion, he grabbed her outstretched leg and punched her in the back of the knee. She let out a hiss of pain, as Wesker followed up by kicking out her other leg from beneath her. He was successful in forcing her to the ground, though he was unable to pin her as sent a bolt of lightning out from her fingertips, that arced against the side of his face, momentarily blinding him, and shattering his sunglasses.

Eleanor was quickly on her feet, as Wesker let out a chuckle and tossed his ruined glasses to the ground.

"You're getting faster brother." Eleanor noted with a smirk, her glowing red eyes, matching his own in ferocity.

"Even for one so young, your powers are impressive." Wesker noted with a keen eye.

"And you're learning quite quickly. Keep this up and you'll be as powerful as Zabuza soon." Eleanor offered to him as well.

"It truly is amazing the extent of what even a simple magical being can do." Wesker mused aloud, earning a nod of agreement from Eleanor.

"Yes, and we're far beyond simple magicals. I've seen the extent of human limitations. I've seen what Lord Hashirama can do when he's actually trying, and it truly is amazing, but at the end of the day, he's still only human." Eleanor agreed.

"I once sought to understand the limits of human perfection. Now I find that humans are far in a way inferior to beings such as us." Wesker responded as he cracked his neck.

"Of course. We are half-demons, and we are mamma Riley's children. Even if at our best we held one-one millionth of her power, we would still be stronger then any weapon mankind has ever produced." Eleanor responded with a devilish smirk.

"An intriguing thought." Wesker responded, as he readied to continue their training.

As the two were about to rush at one another again, one of the distant mountains was suddenly and violently torn asunder by a massive explosion.

A blinding white light covered most of the mountain's peak and massive torrents of lightning arced off of the sphere of light, tearing across the landscape, splintering many towering tree and ripping up the ground.

A single moment passed as both Eleanor and Wesker were nearly thrown to the ground by the shock-wave that tore passed them, and it was immediately followed by an ear-shattering kaboom.

The ringing in their ears held for nearly a full minute before subsiding. By the time it did, the explosion had faded, and the mountain-top was gone.

"Amazing." Wesker noted, his statement earning an awed nod from Eleanor.

Not far off, Madara Uchiwa and his younger brother Izuna, sat resting from a very long sword duel. Both were eyeing the now vanished mountain-top with amusement.

"She truly is your granddaughter elder brother." Izuna noted with a snort of enjoyment.

"Hmph… she's a spitfire today." Madara agreed.

"I'd say she's being rather tame today. Usually when she brings us here to train, she disappears over the mountains and all we hear from her for a week in a near unending series of explosions." Izuna stated with a chuckle.

"True. She's been spending more time recently learning to hone her abilities, rather then expand them. She's already more powerful then anything else in our world, so instead she does the intelligent thing and breaks her back trying to gain just a bit more control over her powers." Madara agreed. In the time since the end of the war, Riley had spent the majority of her training time doing two things. Learning her new limits, and honing her control over her powers.

Both tasks were unspeakably difficult. Despite it being over a year since then end of the War, and thus with the use of **Kamui, **well over five for Riley, she was still having difficulties getting her control back to what it once was. It was incredibly slow going, luckily Riley was patient, and dedicated. She found peace in laborious tasks, and which served as a great benefit in her current endeavors. The Nine Tails had openly admitted that he believed at her current pace, it would take Riley another hundred years in **Kamui** to get her control back up to what it was before she had absorbed the Ten-Tails. She'd be closing in on two-hundred-and-fifty years old, by the time she could finally return to learning new abilities, and gaining new powers. That was why she was taking these training trips more often.

With that current goal in mind, Riley had been trying for two to four weeks in **Kamui** every day. Occasionally she'd go for longer, which shaved time off, but if she kept up that schedule, then it would take her less then three years in the real world to complete her training in this regard. And Riley wanted to ensure her control over her powers was back up to near perfect, before she began planning how she would go about making her mates into her paths.

Madara and Hashirama still assisted her in her training, despite their newfound freedom, it just simply wasn't as often

In the sky high above the eviscerated mountain, Riley hovered. Even now, after all the time that had passed since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, Riley was still testing her limits. Not only how far she could go, but how easily she could hold back. Riley barely had to flex her powers, to cause such devastation. She truly was on the level of a god now.

"**It's still not enough." **Kurama noted, earning a subconscious nod of agreement form Riley.

"I know. If I want to guarantee our survival when the day of wrath comes, I need to get stronger. I need to make sure my allies are stronger. The more power we have, the more we'll be able to do when that day finally comes." Riley stated aloud, her gaze hard and filled with cold calculation.

After a moment of pondering she repaired the mountain with little more than a thought. She then turned and glided down to a large lake that sat outside of what would typically be the zone of inhabitance in **Kamui**. This lake, or perhaps sea was a better word for it, simply stretched out into the far distance, it's end disappearing from sight.

Once Riley was at the edge of the lake she held her hand out and began channeling her power over gravity. Slowly and with careful precision, water began to rise up before her. She extended a hand as if she was reaching out for the sphere as it began to drift away from her and grow in size. This was one of Riley's many control exercises, using gravity to pick up and then maintain a sphere of liquid. Usually it was water but Riley occasionally experimented with other elements in a liquid state to test her control. The point was to make the sphere as large as possible, while maintaining it in a liquid state. Riley could easily condense the sphere of water and crush it into a ball of ice, or even crush it further down into something more, but that wasn't the point of this exercise. The point was to maintain the water as a liquid, while holding it to the shape. That enhanced her control, slowly but steadily. Riley would do this several times over creating upwards to ten titanic spheres of water, some reaching tens of miles in diameter, and then she would meditate and simply maintain it for as long as she could without losing control over or putting too much power into it.

And while Riley focused on this, she'd send clones to either train her family, her mates, or her friends. Or she'd send them to study various things or develop new spells or jutsu.

Riley hadn't learned many new abilities in the time since the end of the war, but most of the ones she had learned, came from training with Lady Kaguya. The Reincarnated Rabbit Goddess was in no way a warrior. She was powerful and had a number on incredibly overpowered abilities, but she wasn't a fighter, nor was she overly skilled.

Despite that, Riley learned what she had to teach with gusto. She learned how to harden and manipulate her own hair, much like her tails. She could make it near impossible to cut through, and as sharp as razor wire. She could extend it if she wanted too and grab hold of opponents. She could even pierce them with strands of her hair, which was one of the twists Riley had put on the ability. In combat she could extend her hair and have it expand and elongate, she would then use magic to harden it and then unleash the near one-hundred-thousand individual strands as an area-of-effect attack, sort of like a ranged touch-attack.

Riley had originally been less then enthusiastic about the idea of using her hair as a weapon, as her tails served basically the same functions, but with the development of this ability, Riley could use these strands like a literal sea of piercing spears. A single hair was so thin that it was near impossible to kill someone by piercing them with it, which is what made it so sadistic. Riley could use her hair to pepper a wide area, skewering a handful of targets with it, she could then either use the individual strands as cutting wires and slowly and delicately slice through a person, causing immeasurable pain. Or she could even channel the elements through it. Riley found the most sadistic being fire, as in some cases, depending on the concentration of hairs, a single target could be pierced upwards to a hundred times by these hair strands and that meant a hundred points of contact for fire to burn into their bodies and through their internal organs, muscle, bones, and nerves directly.

It truly was a sadistic invention, add that onto the ability to harden and then launch individual strands of hair like a sea of needles, and the ability to collect strands together into blade like instruments to hack at opponents, and it became a ferocious and incredibly versatile school of magic.

And as was a constant for Riley, redundancy was her bread and butter.

Other techniques Riley learned from her grandmother was how to utilize the **All-Killing Ash Bones**. Which allowed her to further weaponize her bones and even utilize some of the Kaguya Bracken Dances with the Ash Bones, when the technique was activated, anyone pierced or cut would immediately begin to break down at a molecule level. It was an instant kill move for anything that required a body. So any being short of a true magical being like a demon or an angel, would be near instantly killed if Riley used the ability on them.

Another ability Riley had taken to learning and mastering was the **Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack**. An ability which allowed her to manifest large chakra fists to strike at her opponents with unspeakable power. To test the ability in battle she had used it against Madara while he used his **Perfect Susano'o. **Much to both of their surprise the ability shattered his **Susano'o** with almost impossible ease. When focusing this ability, along with her **Byakugan**, it became one of the few techniques that fell into the category of 'Ultimate offense.'

Another small part of Riley's training was learning to utilize the **Truth-Seeking Orbs**. When she had absorbed the Ten-Tails, she had gained Ten of them. More often then not, Riley kept them constantly manifested, she simply had them placed under the skin of her back. If one were to look at her naked back, they would see the **Ten-Tails Coffin Seal**, and around it, Ten pitch black spheres, which were actually the manifested **Truth-Seeking Orbs**, hidden under her flesh.

From Kaguya she learned that much like with **Izanagi **and **Izanami** if Riley ever lost one of Truth-Seekers, the only way to get it back was with an immense amount of magic. In this case, Riley would have to sacrifice one of the tomoe in one of her three eyes to regain one of the orbs if she lost it. Then she would have to wait a day for that tomoe to regenerate. Riley learned quickly that the loss of even a single tomoe in her eyes, reduced their power drastically. So she didn't want to go losing any of her **Truth-Seeking Orbs.** This was also the reason why someone with the **Rinnegan **could manifest **Truth-Seeking Orbs **but could not replace them.

Aside from learning about their properties, Riley learned how to shape them, how to use them offensively, and how to use them defensively. These orbs negated all basic forms of magic. Only Nature Energy infused abilities or pure demonic, or holy powers could contact them without being negated, much like the **Chakra Receivers.**

Kaguya had also promised to teach Riley as many of her clan's abilities as she could, once Riley had finished regaining full control over her power and completed her training with Hagoromo.

Aside from time spent training, Riley was slowly but surely spending more time with her grandmother. They were still a bit awkward around one another, but they were slowly starting to bond. One thing that was made clear between them though, was that if Riley was truly Kaguya's heir then she'd be the one to answer to the Ootsutsuki when they came to the Earth one day. So much of their time together involved Kaguya either teaching Riley everything she knew as an Ootsutsuki, or as an Uzumaki. And if she wasn't doing that, she was helping her to develop new techniques, or encouraging her to learn new abilities from others.

Kaguya wasn't the only one to teach Riley some new techniques. While Riley hadn't learned many new abilities in the time since the war, many of the ones she did learn actually came from Tobirama Senju. The man was a master of making new jutsu. In fact it was one of his hobbies. Riley learned from him and worked with him to develop new abilities, things that they could utilize when the Ootsutsuki came, or when the Day of Wrath finally arrived.

Needless to say, despite control being her primary area of study since the end of the war, Riley still continued to expand her repertoire of techniques and abilities, little by little, in preparation for the wars to come.

**-Riley's House, London. August 15th 1998-**

Riley and Kaede were quietly kissing each other after a short lovemaking session. Just a short little tryst to relieve themselves.

The two were enjoying the sensation of their kissing when a whimper filled the near silent room. Both separated, as Riley felt fear surge through her bond with one of her mates. Her head snapped towards where Luna lay, cuddled up to Katie. Luna was shaking and whimpering, obviously experiencing a nightmare.

Riley shared a glance with Kaede before delicately crawling over the slumbering form of Daphne, to reach where Katie lay spooning with Luna.

For several moments Riley simply thought that Luna was having the same nightmare she always did. The reoccurring memory of her mother's death, but it was just as she finished climbing over Daphne, that she realized this was something entirely different.

A strangled cry of fear escaped from Luna's lips and she desperately and subconsciously clutched at Katie. Her sudden jolting movement woke Katie from a dead sleep, and she quickly shot up, out of Luna's grasp, her eyes darting around the room for a moment before turning towards the whimpering form of Luna who was openly shaking, and crying in her sleep.

Even before Riley made contact with her, she could tell this wasn't the same nightmare. The memory of her mother's death, caused pain, and sorrow. This… this was terror. Riley had never felt one of her mates feel this before. She had never known them to feel this kind of fear. Riley's own heart, and demonic instincts screamed in fury at her mate's distress.

Then came the contact. As soon as Riley scooped the frantic young woman into her arms, she saw it. Through the bond that came with contact, Riley saw the nightmare that was causing Luna so much fear, and she quickly surmised that it wasn't a nightmare at all.

Images flashed in her head. Ice… vast continents of ice. And then… light… blinding light. Then came water, walls of water. Cities drowning. Billions screaming out in terror as the waves consumed them. Fear, pain, agony, unimaginable suffering. Pure terror as countless lives were seemingly snuffed out at once.

"Luna!" Riley snapped, her magic surging across the bond, snapping her frantic mate awake. Riley did nothing to hide the rage in her eyes. The magnitude of anger in Riley's gaze, was only comparable to the sheer terror and panic reflected in Luna's delicate blues.

Luna was trembling. By now everyone was awake. Daphne was sitting up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Fleur had shot up when she heard Riley snap. Katie and Kaede watched with concern as Riley cradled the delicate Ravenclaw in her arms.

For several long moments, everything was silent as Riley held Luna in her embrace. Luna's whole body shook, almost as if her very soul itself was trembling. The sheer panic in Luna's eyes… it made Riley sick to her stomach. She never wanted to see that look reflected in any of her mates eyes ever again. It made her angry, immeasurably angry. She wanted to lash out, to strike at the cause of Luna's distress.

But she couldn't because it wasn't real.

Seconds passed, then a minute, then two. Finally Luna's body stopped with it's violent shaking though she still continued to tremble a bit. Slowly she focused her eyes on Riley and for a moment the two stared into each others very souls.

Riley saw the sickness reflected in Luna's eyes. In a smooth motion, Riley turned herself, one of her tails grabbing an object off of the nightstands and transfiguring it into a bowl. The bowl was quickly placed right in front of Luna, a half second before she vomited.

"Oh, Luna." Katie cooed as reached out and placed a hand on the young woman's back.

After clearing out the contents of her stomach Luna pulled back. Riley thoughtlessly banished the bowl and its contents before pulling Luna into a tight embrace.

By now, all of her fellow mates were circled around the two of them. They shared looks of concern with one another as they watched Riley gently caress the top of Luna's head and whisper things to her.

The embrace that Riley had Luna in, there was something so possessive about it. Something powerful, and domineering, it was difficult to describe, but if it had to be explained, it almost looked like how many of them would expect Riley's 'mama panther' attitude to look like.

There was pure strength and comfort in the embrace. It was immeasurably powerful, almost like the world could go up in flames right now and that embrace would keep Luna safe.

They all could tell something was very wrong. Riley's demonic features were much more twisted then normal and the starlight within her wings was growing more intense.

"_Shh… it's alright. You don't have to be afraid, I'm here."_ Riley whispered as she held Luna.

Fleur and Katie were in the right place to see the side of Luna's face, her eyes were wide and quivering and tears were streaming down her cheeks as she clung to Riley like a lifeline.

After several seconds Riley pulled away from Luna a bit, adjusting herself and taking her face in her hands. The two locked eyes as Riley leaned down and rested her forehead to Luna's.

"You're safe. It wasn't real. It was just a dream." Riley stated to her.

Luna stared back for several long moments before she closed her eyes. More tears began to slide down her cheeks, as she tried to compose herself.

"It wasn't a dream..." Luna muttered.

Silence filled the room for several long moments as Riley's gaze hardened.

"A prophecy?" Riley guessed. Luna nodded, as the surrounding women shared glances with one another.

Riley pulled Luna back into an embrace, cradling he,r and doing her best to provide the young woman with whatever strength she needed to recover from this.

"**A vision of the end of the world. It was different from the Day of Wrath. Something else is coming." **Kurama noted.

"_I know. A great flood. I never knew that prophecies felt so vivid. I never knew it was this intense. Luna said the first time she saw a vision of the Day of Wrath she was ten years old. I can't imagine what it must have been like for her to see that, at that age."_ Riley replied to the mighty beast.

"**I would say it's about time you get to work on that kingdom of yours Riley. It sounds like people are gonna need a place to go in the not to distant future."** Kurama stated with a sigh.

"_Your right. Somethings going on. Something we didn't foresee. We need to prepare for it. Just like we do for everything else." _Riley responded to Kurama before turning her attention back to Luna.

"_It's alright my love… I wont let that be the end of us. I swear I'll save as many as I can."_ Riley whispered over her bond with Luna.

She felt the Ravenclaw nod, and Riley held her just a bit tighter at that, her gaze lifting up to meet eyes with her surrounding mates. A silent conversation was held between them. It was apparent to the surrounding ladies, that Riley was finally done relaxing. There was a seriousness about her now, something that they hadn't seen since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja World War.

She was ready to put aside the quiet times. If the world was ready to get serious again, then so would she. And she'd ensure that all of her loved ones were ready for it as well. Come hell or high water, Riley would proved her might against whatever threats came. Even if that threat was the apocalypse itself.

**-Pentref Cysgodian Hud, London. September 17th 1998-**

"Lord-Commander." Wesker greeted the young Uchiha lord. By his side was Kabuto, and the newest member of their fledgling science division, Eleanor.

"I understand you needed to speak with me." Itachi stated as he lifted his gaze to meet with the obscured eyes of the ex-Umbrella scientist.

"Yes. In regards to a matter of importance. If our division is to continue to grow we need more staff. Qualified individuals with a certain level of prestige in their fields." Wesker began.

"I assume that means that you've brought me a list of potential recruits?" Itachi stated, sensing the point of this conversation.

"That we have Lord-Commander. Compiled here is a list of names, various researchers, scientists, and other brilliant minds that could be beneficial to the Legion if they were brought on. I'm assuming you don't have an issue with working with muggles?" Kabuto answered as he handed him a folder, filled with various personnel files on numerous individuals.

"You're suggesting we begin recruiting to the science division? Well I see no problem with it. And I have no issue working with muggles. So long as they can keep their mouths shut in regards to magic, I don't see an issue. Is there anyone in particular you wanted to look into first?" Itachi inquired as he read some of the names and occupations.

"Yes. An old colleague of mine. Brilliant man. His name is William Birkin. He's an Umbrella scientist, working on construction of a new viral pathogen, Code names the G-Virus. Much like myself he's come to see Umbrella as a dead end, and last I heard he was looking for a way out. He had intentions of selling G, to the U.S. military in exchange for his safety and the safety of his family. His wife is also a brilliant scientist. Recruiting both of them would be a valuable addition to our fledgling organization." Wesker explained. Itachi was silent as he quickly leaved through the folder until he arrived at the information on William Birkin. He was quick to read the various passages about the man, as well as information on him and his family that Wesker provided.

"Where is he?" Itachi asked without looking up.

"The NEST. A laboratory hidden beneath Raccoon City, not far from where Lady Riley found me." Wesker answered.

"What'll you need to retrieve him?" Itachi asked as he shut the folder and looked up at the three.

"A small strike team is all that's required. Thought getting him out would be a primary objective along with his wife and daughter, an incursion into the NEST would also give us the opportunity to gather information on all of Umbrella's B.O.W.s being worked on there." Wesker informed him.

"That information would be quite valuable to us. Knowing how these Biological weapons work will give us the edge in destroying Umbrella's if they ever see military action, and it would give us the opportunity to begin our own research into B.O.W.s. The T and G viruses are much like ADAM. Their ability to mutate tissue, when honed, could one day lead us to increasing the power of our own soldiers." Kabuto added, earning a nod of agreement from Eleanor.

Itachi was silent for a moment as he pondered the idea. Biological warfare was illegal in modern warfare, but such a thing was barely a noteworthy to the Legion. They fought alongside demons, and did unspeakable things. Shinobi did not turn down advantages due to morals. War was terrible. Trying to make it less terrible simply invited it to happen more often. As far as Itachi was concerned, the ideas of B. was a deterrent just like everything else. If this gave the Legion an edge in the wars to come, if the study of these viruses led them to creating more powerful soldiers then that meant that the Legion would have a greater chance to survive. Britain would have a better chance.

"What do you think?" Itachi asked aloud. As soon as the final word left his mouth, the space next to his distorted and out of **Kamui,** Riley appeared.

"I say… lets get a team ready and prepare a raid. If nothing else, these assholes in Umbrella sound like they'll be competition for us in the future. So… let's hit them first." Riley responded with a devilish smirk.

"Very well then. Prepare a team. Ex-filtration of VIPs. Extraction of valuable data, and samples, and sabotage of the Umbrella facility. Their loss will be our gain." Itachi stated, earning a nod from the four.

"Due to the delicate nature of this assignment, we'll need to be careful how we form this strike-team. Lets go and speak with commander Shikaku and get his opinion on it. If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do with the best possible chance of achieving all of our goals." Riley stated to the three.

"You'll leave for the US in three days. Good luck. Albert, since you know the area and have experience in operations such as this, I'm placing you in charge of this operation. Good luck. I'll expect to hear good things upon your return." Itachi ordered his voice calm and even.

"Three days then. Let us get to work." Wesker responded, his eyes flashing red as he and his fellows turned and headed out, all three being watched by the calculating gaze of Itachi, and the ominous purple glow of Riley's **Rinne-Sharingan.**

**-****To Be Continued-**

**Number 1: Resident Evil 1: Chimera**

_**Alright there's the next chapter. If anyone was wondering why the mansion incident was so short, well it was because that wasn't all of the Resident Evil I was going to add. As I'm sure many of you have guessed by now, I'm trying my best to keep things tied to their original timeline. Everything worked out so nicely with Riley graduating Hogwarts in the early summer of 1998 that it just felt right to follow the timeline. I'll be sprinkling in visions of future storylines and foreshadowing as the story progresses. I wonder if anyone's gonna guess what Luna's vision was in reference too. Regardless, hope you all enjoyed, and I apologize for being a few hours late. I meant to have this our earlier but I couldn't figure out the right way to end it, so I was left struggling for a bit. Only an hour past deadline, I can live with that. Next chapter out before the 15th. Until then, hit me up if you have any questions, or if you wanna talk shop about the story, or make guessed to future events. I'm always willing to engage you guys if you wanna. I hope this was enough extra stuff that people who aren't familiar with Resident Evil, weren't simply left lost. Anyway, Later!**_


	4. 4: City of Pain

**Alright, here's the next chapter for everyone. Sorry it's a little late, I just got surgery to repair my eardrum, so I've been relaxing these last few days, and kinda out of it, due to the pain meds.**

**I would like to point out a correction from the previous chapter, there is actually three remaining Akatsuki members, not two. I forgot that Deidara was still alive. So that actually leaves Hiruko, Hidan, and Deidara as surviving Akatsuki. **

**Anyway, here's we goes. This chapter will cover a lot of the events of Resident Evil 2/3, though some events will be skewed a bit due to the involvement of Riley's faction. Anyway, hope everyone enjoys. :) And as for those not truly interested in RE, please be patient, as these chapters also sets up future conflicts and developments. Hope you all enjoy yourselves and have some fun.**

_**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**_

Chapter 4: City of Pain

**September 18th 1998:**

**Riley's Home, London:**

"Is it really that bad?" Daphne inquired.

Across from her sat Gaia, whom was quietly sipping on some tea. In truth it was actually nearly bedtime, though for Gaia, it was already partway through her morning. She had simply come to Britian to spend the morning with her fellow mates, and meet with Itachi to discuss certain business in regards to a situation that was slowly growing more dire in the Elemental Nations.

With the latter part of her purpose complete, Gaia was now at Riley's home, intent on spending an hour or so with her fellow mates to discuss things, before she returned to the Elemental Nations to continue her day.

The two were sat at a table in the kitchen, with them was Madara, Izuna, Kaguya, Hashirama, and Tobirama.

"Yes. At first it was only in the immediate vicinity of the battle against the Ten-Tails. However as time progresses, residual dark energy is flowing out into the nearby lands, causing negative side effects in the people that live there. We're already receiving reports of an increase in violence, and we've noted a rise in animal attacks, as even the wildlife is starting to become affected by the presence of demonic Youki." Gaia explained.

"Demonic Youki is a dangerous thing. Even now, over a year later, it's still corrupting everything in that area. Have you spoken with Riley about it?" Hashirama asked.

"Yes. After an investigation she's found that the majority of the dark energy is some form of corrupted nature energy. It's not leftovers from her or the Ten-Tails. It seems their battle corrupted the laylines in that area, and now nature itself is turning twisted, and I think its spreading." Gaia answered, her tone, heavy and solemn.

"Perhaps you could do something about that brother?" Tobirama noted, earning a thoughtful look from Hashirama.

"Perhaps. Pure nature energy can suppress demonic Youki to a certain degree, but this isn't purely demonic youki. Dark nature energy is much like the magic we found in Orochimaru's Curse Marks, or in his experimental Inferi. It does similar things to people and to nature that Demonic Energy does. I'd have to investigate and see if I can reverse the effects or at least slow their progress." Hashirama stated after a moment of thought.

"Perhaps there is something you can do, though I highly doubt it. The effects seen in the Elemental Nations are simply the small-scale variant to what would happen to a world successfully conquered by demons. This Dark Nature Energy is the end result to a planet becoming a dark world. The battle between Riley and the Ten-Tails scarred the Earth, and triggered the transition in that area. The question isn't how to stop it, the question is how far will it spread before it does." Kaguya stated, her tone heavy, and direct.

"Is there no way to reverse such a thing?" Tobirama asked.

"The only way I know of to reverse such damage, is to heal the scar, and cleanse the dark energy from it, allowing the world to heal naturally. The process of doing this however, is outside of our abilities. It would require a being, on a similar level to one of the Bijuu, but with access to Holy magic." Kaguya responded, her eyes fixing the Kazekage with a look that held a warning, one that Gaia interpreted as not trying too hard to fight this, as it was something outside of humanity's ability to combat.

"So we'd need an angel in order to heal the damage? Well, unfortunately most angels would be more inclined to fight Riley then spend any time trying to heal our world, and I'd rather not invite such a conflict to our world if it can be avoided." Gaia responded, earning herself a nod of agreement from Daphne, and from Hashirama.

"For now, Lady Kazekage, I would strongly advise that you begin evacuating people from that area, and install sensor-types to keep an eye on things and keep track of the spread of this energy. It shouldn't take more then a few years for the development of this scar to stabilize and for the spread of this energy to halt." Kaguya offered.

"I see. I'll take your suggestion into consideration, my lady. For now though, I think it's time for me to head back." Gaia responded as she rose to her feet. Everyone else rose as well, offering their farewells to the Kazekage in turn.

"You sure you don't want to hang around? Riley's bed is awfully comfy." Came the inquiry from Daphne. Gaia offered her a smirk, which Daphne mimicked in reply.

"I know a trap when I see one. I have responsibilities that supersede my personal desires. So unfortunately, I'm going to have to decline." Gaia responded, earning a snort of amusement from Daphne, as the two shook hands.

"Give the others my regards." Gaia asked, earning a nod from her fellow mate. The Kazekage then offered her future in-laws a nod before removing her own personal portkey and vanishing from sight.

A few quiet moments passed as the group shared contemplative looks. It was finally Izuna who spoke up, breaking the silence.

"What does it say when this all starts happening at once? We have terrorists carrying out attacks in the Elemental Nations. Now we have this dark nature energy pouring out across hundreds of square kilometers, doing gods only know what to the people there. What's next?" He voiced, a look of concern marring his face.

"It's a sign. An omen of a dark future." Madara noted, his words drawing a nod of agreement from his wife.

"Something terrible is coming. Luna saw it in a vision. A great flood awaits us in the future. I think this is all just a buildup for it." Daphne stated, earning curious looks from her extended family.

"Another prophecy, like the Day of Wrath?" Hashirama inquired.

"Riley thinks so." Daphne responded.

"If a Seeress is seeing things, then that does not bode well for us in the coming days. I would strongly advise that we begin preparations for this 'great flood'. Lest we find ourselves drown in it's wake." Kaguya stated as she rose and began to depart, an air of cold separation about her, that was seemingly a constant for the former goddess, nowadays.

"She isn't wrong. We must prepare. We should begin the construction of resource caches in the highlands, so that they'll be safe from this flood. We should also look into the possibility of moving the Hidden Village. If a great flood is coming, then having it on the water, may not be the best idea." Tobirama stated.

"Is such a thing possible? Relocating a hidden village, I mean?" Izuna inquired, glancing at his brother.

"I've seen a city that floats in the sky, and a city the survives beneath the waves, I highly doubt anything is impossible in this world of ours. One need only the will to make it happen." Madara replied sagely, earning a nod from his younger brother, while Hashirama hummed in agreement.

After a few moments, Hashirama rose to his feet and turned towards Daphne. "I'm heading out to speak with Itachi. Once done I intend to head out to the Elemental Nations and take a look around. I'll leave a clone behind to look after the orphanage, but if you or one of the others could swing by occasionally to check on things, I'd appreciate it."

"You think you might be able to do something?" Daphne inquired.

"I'm not sure. I trust Lady Kaguya's assessment of the situation, but I want to make certain that this is outside of my ability to fix before I turn my attention to other options." Hashirama responded, earning a nod of understanding from Daphne.

"I'll let the others know. I'm sure Kaede will keep things in order while she's visiting her brother, and I'll have Riley keep an eye on the place whenever she has some free time." Daphne responded, earning a thankful smile from Hashirama.

"I'll go with you brother. Perhaps we can see about sealing away the dark energy, if it's at all possible." Tobirama offered, earning a nod from his elder brother.

"Good luck you two. Send word if you find any solutions." Madara stated, earning a nods from the two Senju brothers before Tobirama placed a hand on Hashirama's shoulder and the two vanished in a flash.

"You think they'll find anything brother?" Izuna inquired.

"I doubt it. But Hashirama wont rest until he's at least tried to help. Perhaps he can mitigate some of the damage, but I doubt it will be easy to fix this." Madara responded with a sigh.

"Well, I'm going to retire. Goodnight you two, I'll see you tomorrow." Daphne offered after a moment. Both brothers offered a glance and a nod of confirmation as she turned and exited the room. The two remained there, both in quiet contemplation about this new source of distress.

Upstairs Daphne arrived to find most of her fellow mates finished up getting read for bed. The only one still dressing down was Fluer, Kaede, Luna, and Katie were already in bed.

"Did Gaia leave?" Fleur inquired when she spotted Daphne enter.

"Yes, she's headed back to Suna. Where's Riley?" Daphne answered.

"Not here. I assume she's off training or perhaps she at the hidden village with Itachi." Came the response from Katie.

"Is somezing wrong?" Fleur inquired.

Daphne gaze her a look and was about to reply when she decided not to. Out of all of them, Katie was the only other one to have a job that might involve her in this new pain-in-the-ass that was developing, as Katie worked for the Legion now. Daphne, as the head of Hellsing was also involved, but the rest of them, were basically civilians. Daphne quickly made the decision that it was best not to worry them with this. They were already dealing with Luna's newest prophetic vision of some sort of great flood, and that was on top of the Day of Wrath. Adding this to the mix would just bring unneeded stress. So she just offered Fleur a smile and shook her head.

Daphne could tell that Fleur didn't buy it, but she must have understood that it wasn't something that involved them so there was no need to press for more info if Daphne felt uncomfortable sharing.

Daphne was quick to begin undressing and preparing for bed, meanwhile in a neighboring room, Kaguya Uzumaki Ootsutsuki stood at her window staring up at the moon. Hidden within the sleeve of her robes was her faithful servant and extension of her will, Black Zetsu.

"**What are you thinking mother?"** Black Zetsu inquired.

"Yes, what are you thinking?" Madara inquired as he entered the room, stepping up beside Kaguya.

"This world is so loud. It's so much more filled with life then when I ruled it. There's so much more to it now. So much more for _them_ to take." Kaguya responded.

"The Ootsutsuki will come for us one day, and when they do, we'll be ready to deal with them." Madara responded.

"I wish I had your confidence Madara. My kinsmen are so powerful. Even after I became a goddess I still feared them, and the power they held. I do not wish to see them take my family's legacy. I do not wish to see them take my home." Kaguya stated, her voice heavy, and foreboding.

"They wont. If they choose to show their faces here we'll end them. And if they somehow make it past me, then they'll have to deal with our granddaughter. Do you honestly think your kinsmen are stronger then her?" Madara replied, giving Kaguya a sideways glance, his **Rinnegan** shining in the darkness of the room.

"No. I don't think they are. But they're older. Much older. And unlike me… they know how to fight." Kaguya responded turning to meet his glance.

"You worry too much." Madara noted with a shrug and sigh.

"And you do not worry enough." Kaguya responded, narrowing her eyes at him. Her actions earned a smirk from Madara, whom enjoyed seeing her getting worked up.

"All we've ever done with magic is use it to kill each other. We're not ascended beings, or great philosophers, we humans are warriors. We are killers, at the core of our beings. If these Ootsutsuki wish to conquer this world, then they will face the resistance of billions of people, some of which are powerful magicals in their own right. Your kinsmen will fight tooth and nail to take this world from us, and if they succeed, then in my mind, they've earned it. So I wont worry about it. Either we'll win, or it wont be our problem anymore." Madara responded, earning an uncertain look from his wife.

"Again, I wish I had your confidence." Kaguya stated as she turned back to the window.

"I do believe you once said my confidence bordered on arrogance. Why don't we just let me be the overly confident one and you be the realistic one? And we'll keep each other from doing anything overly rash." Madara offered, earning a snort of amusement from Kaguya.

"Very well. I'll make sure that giant head of yours, does not grow any larger, and you can go on reminding me that no matter how terrible the odds, the world will always be filled with fools who think they can beat them." Kaguya responded turning back to him. Madara smirked and nodded placing an arm around her and guiding her towards their bed.

Not far away, at the same time, Riley sat on the edge of London bridge, overlooking the river. She was under her **Invisibility Cloak** so no one noticed her as cars drove by.

In Riley's mind she was replaying what she had seen flash through Luna's mind. Each image was stretched out now, appearing and holding in place as Riley went over it, part by part, to ensure that there wasn't anything she missed.

"**It looks to me like one or both of the Ice caps melt." **Kurama noted.

"They don't_ just melt. It looks almost like they're destroyed." _Riley thought back.

"**Yes. That would be an overwhelmingly effective way of culling humanity's population." **Kurama stated as she played the image of cities vanishing beneath the waves in her mind.

"_It doesn't help that most of the world's population lives on or near the ocean. The ice caps melting instantly would release a monstrous tsunami that would drown hundreds of millions at least. Though that number could be much higher."_ Riley mused earning herself a sigh from the giant fox.

"**Well luckily for us, we have access to the technology to build a city under the waves, and one in the sky. So pick your poison and let's start building." **Kurama noted, earning a rueful chuckle from Riley.

"_You know me Kurama, I'm more about prevention then avoidance. If I can stop it from happening, then we'll be better off." _Riley responded to his statement.

"**I know that Riley. But in the case of a flood like this, Rinne Rebirth wont work. You may be able to bring the people back, but all you'll end up doing is drowning them again. There is no fixing this, if you fail to stop it. Setting up measures to mitigate the damage is far more important then just trying to prevent it."** Kurama stated, as Riley let out a sigh.

She could imagine it in her mind, whole cities vanishing beneath the waves, and staying that way for days. Some places would remain under water indefinitely. People who were drowned beneath the waves, could be resurrected by **Rinne Rebirth**, the issue came in the form of them being revived where they fell.

**Rinne Rebirth** had some very powerful repositioning elements to it, if the body of the person in question couldn't be revived where they fell. For instance if a man was crushed under a boulder, and then brought back, his body wouldn't appear under the boulder, it would appear next to it, fully healed. Water was a different story. Because water was fluid, and therefore malleable, a body could be revived in it, so long as the pressure wasn't so great that it prevented the body from being fully healed. All that reviving someone under the waves would accomplish is drowning them again.

So stopping the flood was the only way to ensure that people survived. If she failed, then she had to have backup plans ready. In theory she could utilize seals, barriers, or even Kamui to remove the water, and prevent the flooding, but there was no guarantee it would work during such a tumultuous event. She'd have to run tests in **Kamui** to see if she could manage it. If that wasn't possible, there was the possibility of holding off the waters, with some sort of physical barrier, like a massive ice wall, or something of the like to keep the waters back while the coastlines evacuated. Again that presented it's own issues. For instance, most of the worlds population lived near the water. And with all of them fleeing inland, that could also cause massive resource shortages, that could lead to greater conflict such as wars.

No matter which way this was sliced, if Riley failed to stop the event in it's entirety, then at the least, millions would die, and countless more would be left despondent by it.

These thoughts filled Riley minds for the remainder of the night.

**-****Pentref Cysgodian Hud, London. September 18****th 1998-**

"Thank you all for coming." Itachi stated. Before him sat a team of twenty-four legionnaires. Many of them former Leaf shinobi, though a few ex-Death Eaters were among them.

"You've all been selected for an operation that'll commence tomorrow 0600 hours. The operation is as follows. You are to infiltrate a top secret research base, owned and operated by the international pharmaceutical enterprise, Umbrella. This base is located in America, deep in the heartland of the country, beneath Raccoon City. The Base is called the NEST. Your mission is to infiltrate the facility, extract VIPs, technological assets, and biological and viral samples." Shikaku Nara informed the group, earning steely looks from the collection of hardened veterans of the Fourth Great Ninja War.

"Your primary target is this man, William Birkin." Itachi stated, as he motioned towards a wall where a projector came on and shown the group an image of William Birkin's face. "He's a lead virologist for Umbrella. According to our intel he's developed a new viral agent known as the G-Virus. William has grown disillusioned with working for Umbrella and is seeking escape. As far as we know he contacted the US military to gain their assistance, we are going get him before they get the chance, or Umbrella silences him."

"Given his knowledge of the situation, your team leader for the duration of this assignment will be Doctor Albert Wesker, some of you may have seen him around. He has intimate knowledge of the facilities within Raccoon City, as well as Umbrella's operations therein. Doctor..." Shikaku informed them, gesturing to the former Umbrella scientist whom stepped forward before the team of legionnaires.

"As was stated, our target is William Birkin. The man is one of Umbrella's leading scientists, and he'll be an invaluable asset to the Legion in the coming years. He will be located within the NEST alongside his wife and fellow scientist, Annette Birkin. His young daughter Sherry is also within the city, these two will also need to be extracted, if we are to guarantee Doctor Birkin's cooperation." Wesker explained to them, earning several nods from the group, as images of Annette and Sherry popped up on the projector.

A hand raised in the crowd, coming from Kiba Inuzuka.

"What do we need a virologist for?" Kiba inquired, some of his fellows sharing in his curiosity. Despite the warrior nature of many shinobi, the art of using disease rather then poison, was still a rather simplistic ideal in the Elemental Nations

"As some of you may suspect, Umbrella itself is not a rival, nor is it a competitor in our business. Doctor Wesker here is a former employee of Umbrella and worked for the viral weapons division. He personally developed several strains of highly lethal biological agents that Umbrella is attempting to and has already succeeded at, weaponizing for use in warfare. Doctor Wesker suggests that it could be as little as five years before we start seeing these Bio-organic Weapons deployed on battlefields by various groups, not limited to state-run militaries. We're talking terrorists, rebels, pirates. William and Annette Birkin will prove quite valuable to our own research into biological and viral weapons. Their knowledge will not only aid us in developing our own weapons, but countering Umbrella's. That is why while your primary mission is to extract these three assets, your secondary and tertiary assignments will surround the capture of valuable research, specimens, and weapons, for us to study. Umbrella is not yet our enemy, but given the role they play in this new and dynamic theater of war, we are choosing to launch a preemptive strike to cripple their operations within the states. This operation will open the doorway for future strikes to further hinder and cripple Umbrella's ability to control the Bio-weapons trade." Itachi explained to them, earning more nods from his men as they understood their purpose far clearer.

This was a preemptive strike. This Umbrella had done nothing to them yet, but it stood as a powerful player in future wars, and they now had the opportunity to strike out at them from the shadows.

"What will be done with the NEST, commander?" Came the inquiry from Ino Yamanaka.

"Once targets have been successfully ex-filtrated, and all secondary objectives have been completed, you will initiate your tertiary objective. If at all possible, the base is to be neutralized, upon completion of your mission." Itachi answered, earning a nod from the Yamanaka heiress.

"This operation must be carried out with extreme precision. If we are caught, there is little stopping the Umbrella scientists from unleashing whatever B.O.W.s that are stored within the facility. There is also the risk of contamination. One of Umbrella's main focuses is research on a viral pathogen known as the T-Virus. The Virus itself has remarkable mutagenic effects. Umbrella is working tirelessly to harness control over the virus, and have developed a multitude of Bio-weapons using it as a base. We must be quick and precise if we are to complete this mission without suffering from contamination." Wesker explained.

"You'll deploy to Raccoon City in the early morning hours and scout out the city. Find the entrance to the NEST and plan out your mission. I want this handled smoothly. Take your time. Prepare, and remain focused. Infection with the T-Virus will surely lead to your deaths, so I would strongly advise against hand to hand combat. Use your knowledge, and keep an eye on each other. I expect to hear good things upon your return. If you have any more questions, direct them towards Doctor Wesker, or Lord Nara. Otherwise, you are all dismissed." Itachi finished the briefing and turned to head out.

**-Raccoon City, USA. September 19th 1998-**

The next morning the unit deployed to the states. Drawing American currency from Gringotts, and utilizing portkeys, they made it to the heartland of the US, in only a few moments. From there, Wesker led the group towards Raccoon City. Normally cars or planes would be needed to expedite such a journey with the speed of Shinobi and with broomsticks, they were able to close in the city by the time the sun came up in the states.

The first thing they did upon arrival is buy out a medium sized hotel room in cash. Only two of them were needed for this, and the rest simply snuck into the room after the purchase was made. They intended to use the room as their base of operations for the duration of this assignment.

Once they had a foothold, the Legionaries began their reconnaissance.

For the next few days the group would scout out the area and the would prepare a plan to infiltrate the facility, capture Birkin, and his wife, as well as any other scientists they could get their hands on, and then they would plant special storage seals all throughout the facility. Since the facility lay beneath the city, destroying it outright was not possible as that would cause major damage and civilian casualties to the city above. The facility did have a self-destruct mechanism that was supposed to destroy the facility without damaging the city above, but there was no guarantee it would work as intended, and even if it did, massive underground explosions would have alerted the population above. This mission was meant to be secret. Get in, get out, and ensure that no one knew the Legion was involved.

So the group came prepared with specialized storage seals placed on tags. These seals were designed, upon activation, to release a large quantity of alchemist acid. Much like how Riley had designed an inferno based bomb tag, the legion had taken to stockpiling special storage seals with weapons, and magical tools such as this alchemist acid.

With the aid of individuals such as the First and Second Hokage, along with Riley, the Legion was able to take relatively small quantities of substances such as these acids, and utilize Yang Release to multiply the substance with pure magic. Much like how Hashirama and Tobirama could create their favored elements from nothing but magic, they could use the same ability to multiply certain substances, that weren't overly complex, using these same abilities.

To ensure that there were little to no civilian casualties, they chose to flood the facility rather then bomb it. Once they had captured all necessary VIPs, specimens, and equipment, they would use a clone to seal the facility and then flood it with the acid, killing every living thing still remaining, ruining any equipment left behind, and erasing all evidence of their time there.

Not long after they began their recon, Kiba's team approached Wesker with some information they had recovered.

"The hospitals are filling up with sick people. There are reports of strange monsters in the river." Kiba informed Albert and Kabuto.

Both men shared a look with one another. "It sounds as though the virus has escaped." Wesker noted.

"Is it possible it made it's way down from the Arklay mountains?" Kabuto inquired.

"Such a thing would not surprise me. Though it is also possible this leak came from the disposal facility. Or it may have even come from the NEST itself. The situation here seems to be steadily declining. If symptoms of the T-Virus are already showing up in the people here, then there is a strong possibility that the area has been contaminated." Wesker stated as he turned his gaze over to the window and stared out at the city.

"Perhaps Umbrella has already made it's move to try and stop Birkin from defecting." Kabuto suggested.

"If that's true then he's likely already been killed. If so we'll have to revert to our secondary assignments and try to get out hands on the G-Virus." Wesker responded.

"Well… we should continue scouting the area, and prepare for our insertion into the NEST. If the virus has already escaped then we'll have to proceed with extreme caution." Kabuto offered, earning a nod of agreement from Wesker.

For the rest of that day they continued to scout out the city finding more and more evidence that the T-Virus was polluting the area.

**-Raccoon City, USA. September 23rd 1998-**

Things were quickly spiraling out of control. On the second day of their time in the city, the Legion found evidence that the USS was also present and conducting their own reconnaissance mission.

The USS or the Umbrella Security Service, were Umbrella's attack dogs. According to Wesker they were sent to handle dirty assignments such as assassination or sabotage. If they were in the city, they were most likely looking for a way into the NEST to try and apprehend or kill William Birkin.

Knowing this, the group became much more rushed in their plans. Each day that went by, more and more came to light, revealing that the T-Virus was starting to reach epidemic proportions. By now there were countless people in the hospital, and many of the injured were showing signs of infection.

The Legionaries began to move much faster in their recon as they scouted out not only entrances to the NEST, but also the state of the city, as well as a number of Umbrella facilities that were established on the surface, including the disposal plant, the docks on the river, the Police Station, and the makeshift labs in the hospital basement.

Despite the group knowing that this was a delicate operation and knowing they needed to plan accordingly, the rapid escalation of violence in the city forced their hands and in the early morning of the 23rd, the Legionaries entered into the NEST utilizing Earth Style Ninjutsu to tunnel a way into it.

Twenty-four men were deployed on this assignment, led by Wesker and Kabuto. The unit was split into three specialized groups, that would then each be split in half, forming two twelve-man units. The first group was the recon group which held their sensors, and scouts. The second group was support, which would handle capture of specimens, equipment, and personnel, and the third group was the attack group which would handle disposal of threats. The two units were designated based off of the phonetic alphabet, with the unit one being Alpha, and unit two being Bravo.

Both units entered into the facility at the same time. Alpha's goal was to locate the VIPs in William and Annette, while Bravo team would plant the seals, and accomplish their secondary goals.

They had chosen early dawn to launch their operation in the hopes that many of the researchers were asleep and wouldn't hear them. Due to the facility having metal walls and corridors, the earth style abilities were only stealthy up until they reached an exterior wall. Then they would have to punch through it.

It wasn't long after entering the facility that it became apparent that the situation was worse then they feared.

Many of the scientists were found to have been mauled and eaten by various B. .

"The USS must have gotten here first." Kabuto noted as the unit made it's way through the facility.

"It would seem so." Wesker hummed in agreement.

Each one of the Legionaries was decked out in paramilitary gear, including tactical vests, and pants. Long-sleaved shirts, balaclava, thick gloves and boots. Draped over each member was the telltale cloak of a Dementor. The unit was armed with shotguns, handguns, MP5s, shuriken, kunai, and bomb tags, alongside personal weapons such as wands and the like.

With each passing day the Legion resembled something more akin to a modern military force. They learned how muggle armies worked and operated, they learned how they trained and how they equipped their forces. They took the best aspects of as many armies as they could and incorporated them into the Legion's training. Members of the Legion became skilled in the utilization of many different forms of weapons, as well as the operation of various vehicles. With each passing day, the skillsets of the Legion expanded, with some members even knowing how to fly airplanes or helicopters if they needed to.

All of their training centered around preparedness, even if they could run faster then most land vehicles, that didn't mean they shouldn't learn how to use them. The more the Legion took from their muggle counterparts, the more they were able to adapt with magic to become something unique and unseen before in human history. The Legion was dedicated to becoming the greatest military force in the history of mankind. Better then any magical or muggle army that had come before them.

It was with this mindset and training that allowed them to react with extreme precision even in high-tensity situations.

A roar was heard as a large bipedal lizard came tearing at them from the end of a hallway.

Their point-man, quickly dropped the beast by channeling his Earth element into the bullets of his MP5, and peppering the creature with them. Despite the bullets being small, the Earth magic, enhanced their mass delivering much greater force to the target upon impact. Couple that with hollow-point rounds, and most living things were absolutely demolished by even a short burst from the weapon.

The only sound to accompany his firing of the weapon was the sound of bullets zipping through the air. Both pops that would usually occur during the firing of a gun, were muffled by special runes and seals to ensure that the weapons fired without noise, even if they weren't equipped with suppressors.

"Now what is this?" Kabuto inquired as the unit passed by the downed creature.

"It's a Hunter. One of the BOWs being developed here. It either escaped or it was unleashed." Wesker noted, as he passed by it, offering it little more then a cursory glance.

The unit continued through the facility finding more corpses and escaped monsters. Utilizing stunners they were able to capture a few of the beasts and place them into storage scrolls so that they could be studied at a later date. Eventually Wesker led them to the main security offices where they were able to get a look into the computers. What they found recorded from the security cameras, was that earlier that morning USS infiltrated the NEST and confronted Doctor Birkin in his labs. Before they could take him into custody he tried to pull a gun on them and was subsequently shot. The USS then took a briefcase from him that from the looks of it, contained viral samples. They then fled the area.

Not long after they departed the room, the still living Birkin injected himself with a viral agent he had on his person, and began to rapidly mutate into a monster that then gave chase after them.

"Well that's unfortunate." Wesker noted.

"We'll have to put him down if we come across him." One of the Legionaries noted.

"Possibly not. If we can capture him, maybe his mind and spirit can be recovered." Ino Yamanaka stated, earning a curious look from Wesker.

"She's right. During the fourth great ninja war, Lady Riley resurrected her fallen comrades from the dead. If we can capture Birkin, we might be able to restore his sanity and give him a new body to work with." Kabuto informed his colleague.

"Very well. Then we'll continue on mission. Bravo team will be dispatched after William. Head to his labs and start tracking him, he can't have more then a few hours head start. Capture him if at all possible. Alpha team will take over dealing with the NEST. There are still survivors for us to deal with." Wesker commanded. Kabuto nodded and took off to lead Bravo team after Birkin while Wesker led Alpha team deeper into the facility. According to the security cameras, a small group of scientists had cordoned off a part of the facility and were trying their best to survive. The BOWs were making things very difficult for them as they continued to launch attack after attack against their position.

Inside one of the sealed off labs, Annette Birkin was working, with everything going to hell, it was her intention to leave the NEST and get the hell out of the city. She could hear clawing at the door leading into the laboratory she was currently held up in. A handful of surviving scientists lay scattered about the room, each one trying to think up something productive to assist them in their current situation, however most were unable to do more then cower.

The scratching grew more intense until it suddenly stopped. They then heard a shriek of pain from the other side of the door. Annette paid it little mind. More then likely it was one B.O.W attacking another.

A few moments later and they heard the systems activating for the door controls. Annette's eyes widened as she grabbed a nearby pistol and aimed it at the door, as several of her colleagues shot to their feet and moved away from the door.

A moment later it slid open. Annette was halfway through pulling the trigger when a cloaked figure rushed into the room, machine gun at the ready. The figure moved much faster then seemed natural, and as soon as it spotted Annette, it aimed it's weapon at her and fired a single shot.

The bullet hit the outer edge of the pistol and went flying over her shoulder, while her gun, jerked sideways, and broke, a shower of sparks, momentarily disorienting her.

In a movement that was too fast for her to follow, the cloaked figure rushed across the room, seized her by the arm, and held it firm behind her. It then grabbed her other arm, preventing her from struggling or escaping.

By the time she had regained her bearings, she was held in place by her unknown assailant.

She blinked a few times, wondering if it was just her disorientation that had made it seem like this person had moved so fast. Her eyes came to rest on the door as a dozen or so more figures entered into the room, weapons at the ready. They were all dressed the same, all except for one, his only differentiating feature was that he wore sunglasses beneath his balaclava to hide his eyes.

He was the only one without a weapon raised and he slowly approached her, his eyes locked on her the whole time.

"Annette, it's been too long." Came a ghostly familiar voice, that caused her eyes to widen.

"You… you're supposed to be dead." Annette muttered in disbelief.

"Exactly." Wesker responded as he glanced around at the surrounding scientists. For several moments he analyzed them, determining if any were of worth.

After a moment he gestured to his subordinates, whom quickly began rounding everyone up.

Annette was slowly released as Wesker gave a nod towards her captor. She rubbed at her wrists but kept her gaze focused on Wesker, knowing exactly who this was, even beneath his facemask and glasses.

"I came here for William." Wesker stated.

"Well you're a bit late for that. USS broke in and killed him. Before that he unleashed the hunters to try and stall them, only succeeded in getting most of us killed." Annette responded with a bit of ire.

"Yes. I saw that on the security monitors. I also saw how he injected himself with what I assume to be his newly developed G-Virus." Wesker informed her, earning a surprised look from Annette in response.

"No… he… shit. Where is he now?" Annette asked in response.

"He gave chase after the USS team. More then likely he wanted revenge. I have another team hunting him down. Once they're finished with their task, we will collect your daughter and you'll be coming with me. I have a business proposal for you and William." Wesker stated, while Annette looked at him with concern.

"You just said that William injected himself with G. If he's already started mutating then not even the Anti-virus can save him now." Annette said to him.

"You've finished work on the Anti-Virus?" Was what Wesker asked in reply.

"Yes, but it wont help him if he's already mutated." Annette responded, with a shake of her head and a mild glare.

"The anti-virus is unimportant in William's case. We have other means of returning him to his old self. Before we depart this facility you will turn over all relevant data, as well as specimen samples. If at all possible, you will also show me how to synthesize the G anti-virus. Do these things, and I will not only save your life, and that of your husbands. But I will ensure your daughter's safety, and ensure that the three of you have a life after all of this is over." Wesker stated in a very direct and commanding tone. Annette looked nervous as she glanced over at the other surviving scientists, most of them were scared out of their minds and simply stood shaking as they were all clustered together.

"What about them?" Annette asked.

"They will be offered their own chance at a position within the organization I work for. Now… shall we get to work?" Wesker responded. After a moment, Annette, seeing no other option, nodded.

Around the same time not far off, Bravo team stood around the corpses of several members of the USS. It was obvious that the mutated Birkin had caught up to them already and had slaughtered them.

"Do you have his scent?" Kabuto inquired to Kiba.

"Yeah I've got it. Just try and keep up." Kiba responded as he led the unit deeper into the sewer system beneath Raccoon City.

Several hours later, Itachi heard his name called out through the Gravemind link. Closing his eyes and focusing he found himself drawn into conversation with Kabuto Yakushi.

A new benefit of utilizing the Gravemind as a mean of communication, as it's powers grew and developed the creature learned how to link the minds of those that it was connected too, to allow them to communicate seamlessly with one another. This allowed the Legion to use it instead of radio systems ,which could be intercepted, to communicate with each other.

"_What is it?_" Itachi asked.

"_Just delivering an update commander and getting your new orders. Our mission has taken a few turns. Umbrella security forces succeeded in injuring William Birkin and in retaliation he injected himself with the G-Virus and mutated into a monster. We succeeded in tracking him down and a dementor drew out his soul, leaving just the mutant body left to rampage. We tried to kill the creature, but I strongly suspect that it survived when we threw it down a pit. The T-Virus and G-Virus have both escaped into the Raccoon City water and sewer systems and contamination seems to have already set in, prior to our arrival. We succeeded in acquiring Annette as well as several scientists, and we've gathered equipment and BOW samples from the NEST. Within an hour we'll be ready to flood it. We also managed to get our hands on the G Anti-Virus, that Annette Birkin has named DEVIL. Once finished in the NEST we'll destroy the complex and head up to the city to acquire Sherry Birkin. With all of that in mind, new information has come to our attention and we require an update for our orders. With contamination levels rising like they are, I'm anticipating a city wide pandemic within the next few days. We still have secondary missions to complete but the situation is becoming much more dangerous then first anticipated. What would you like us to do?" _Kabuto laid everything out so far.

"_I see. I'm assuming if you've acquired William's soul then you intend for Riley's assistance? If so then I'll let her know and send her out to the city. As for your secondary assignments, see the Birkin family to safety first and foremost. Once they are safe, you may proceed with your secondary assignments as you see fit. As of right now, we are not cleared to actively assist the civilian population, but if things are as bad as you say, then perhaps now is the time for us to use our connections with Hellsing, and contact the US government to offer our aid. We have to complete our work within the NEST first though. Ensure that your primary missions are complete before noon, your time. At that point I will get the process started of approaching the Hellsing organization and the US government."_ Itachi ordered.

"_I'll let captain Wesker know."_ Kabuto responded as he 'disconnected' from their communication. Itachi did as well, opening his eyes and staring intently at his office door. After a moment, he once again drew upon his connection to the Gravemind to call out to Riley.

In an instant she appeared in his office via the **Hiraishin.**

"What's up?" Riley inquired.

"The situation in Raccoon City is becoming volatile. William Birkin was infected with the G-Virus. The Legionaries managed to remove his soul with the assistance of a Dementor. I'm assuming they think you can revive him without needing to cure the virus. I'm going to get in contact with Daphne, and see if we can offer our aid to the US government. It sounds like a lot of innocent people are in danger. The teams I sent are almost finished with their primary objectives, and are ready to scour the remaining Umbrella locations within the city to see what else they can acquire. I'm asking you if you'll head out there, see what you can do with Birkin, and maybe see if you cant slow this thing down. According to Kabuto, both the G and T viruses are in the Water supply now. Annette Birkin has developed an Anti-virus for G. Kabuto didn't say as much, but I'm assuming that simply having the anti-virus isn't going to help us much in this case. I need you out there." Itachi explained the situation to Riley whom listened carefully.

Riley offered him a nod, and then shifted her appearance to look how she used too before becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. She even covered her eyes with a **henge** so that she would appear normal. She then summoned the Dementor King to cover herself.

"Say no more. I'll head out there and see what I can do. I'll also try and help the people if I can. You let me know though if we get the green light. Maybe have Daph contact the US Magical Congress, see if they can speed things along. And if they ask how we know about what's happening there, just say that I could sense it. I'm sure by now most of the world's magical governments have heard of me and know that I'm not exactly, 'normal'." Riley stated as she turned and left the room, earning a steady nod from Itachi as she departed.

Itachi stared off for a moment, as he pieced together the best way to go about this. Unlike here in Britain, the Magical and Muggle parts of the US government were not affiliated with each other until after the second World War. When the Magical Congress decided to aid it's muggle counterpart in facing off against the Nazi's, the Japanese, and most importantly, Grindelwald.

Though they now interacted and worked together, the American magical community was still vastly more segregated from non-magicals then most other nations.

With a sigh, he finally found the best answer to his pondering and reached out to contact Daphne. This would be a long process he knew. But it was time for the Legion to step forward from the shadows and offer their aid. This operation itself was proof of their new existence. While they were focused on benefiting from Umbrella's folly, the release of the T and G-Viruses had put a lot of people in danger, and because of that, the Legion was honor bound, as an ally to at least offer their aid in dealing with this growing catastrophe. Even if it was refused, at the very least, they'll have tried, which was more then most shinobi villages would have done.

Within moments, Riley had arrived in Raccoon City, having simply used **Kamui** to return to the Arklay mountains and then flying down to the city. She then quickly entered the NEST using her intangibility and her **Byakugan **to make her way towards her allies at a rapid pace.

She arrived to find all of them cordoned off in a lab. The doors were sealed and several of them were on guard, but none looked to be injured.

"What's up?" Riley greeted as she floated down from the ceiling.

"It's good that you're here." Kabuto noted, when he saw her. Wesker also sent her a glance from across the room. He was currently standing next to a blonde haired woman, who was working diligently on a computer. The woman offered her a surprised glance, she then shared a look with Wesker whom simply shook his head and motioned for her to continue her work. He then turned and headed towards Riley.

"The men claim that you can revive William without his body, so they recovered his soul utilizing one of the Dementors." Wesker informed her.

"They were correct." Riley responded as she glanced around at the Legionaries until one of them rose to his feet. His Dementor cloak leaped off his body and glided towards Riley, passing around her as she held up her hand. A moment later, it leaned over her palm and a small white light emerged from it's mouth and passed over her hand. The Dementor then retreated back to it's host while Riley stared at the light for several moments.

"_Alright… let's work some magic."_ Riley hummed internally. Much as she had done with Voldemort, she utilized her demonic ability to form objects, to quickly construct a homunculus in the shape of a human body. Much like with Voldemort it would be tied to her, and she could end it with little more then a thought. Dark magic swirled before Riley, taking shape and forming into a body that resembled Birkin's from his picture. While the face was accurate, everything else would just be a close approximation. Within a minute she had finished. The whole time she was being watched by the Legionaries, Wesker, Kabuto, and Annette Birkin, who's eyes were wide in disbelief for the duration of the body's construction.

Riley then knelt over the corpse and pressed the small light into it's chest. She then constrained it there, using what she knew about soul magic to lock it into this homunculus. She then made a handsign and the eyes snapped open, and William Birkin took a breath.

"My god..." Annette muttered in disbelief at what she was seeing.

"Amazing." Wesker hummed, his eyes alight with fascination. Not far off, Kabuto was much the same, watching the scene play out with immense curiosity.

For several long moments William Birkin gasped and hyperventilated. For a time his eyes flickered rapidly back and forth. Finally he shot up to a sitting position, and glanced around. To him, it must have felt like he had just awoken from a nightmare.

"William!" Annette stated as she crossed the distance and knelt next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder as she did.

"Annette?" He whispered in disbelief.

"It's alright. You're alright." Annette replied, trying to calm him down.

"It seems they were right. With only his soul you were able to recreate his body from nothing." Wesker noted as he stepped up next to Riley.

"There are many aspects of magic that can be used to create a body like this. Components of the body that can be constructed with magic if you're skilled in particular arts. I could have taken the long way about this and used those methods to make him a body much closer to his original one. But we don't have time for that. So instead I simply utilized one of the special gifts I have, to create it through sheer willpower." Riley responded, earning herself a curious gaze from the man.

"Perhaps one day I will teach this gift to you. All of those like myself are capable of it, if they have the willpower to command magic in such a way." Riley added after a moment, earning a smirk from the man as he picked up her meaning. What she had done just now was a power tied to being a demon. Meaning this was a 'gift' that humans weren't capable of.

"William Birkin. We meed to talk." Riley stated after Annette was given the time to calm the man down.

"Hello old friend. I've come with a business arrangement you might be interested in." Wesker added, fully drawing William Birkin's full attention towards the two.

Later that day, Daphne was sitting outside of the office of the American Magical Ambassador. By her side was Walter, and Alucard was lurking somewhere about. Daphne was only slightly nervous as this was her very first action as the official head of the Hellsing organization, but she kept her nerves in check. This was her job after all, and she was determined to do it, and do it well. If Itachi was right, then a hundred thousand US residents could be in danger from a viral pandemic. They needed to get ahead of this situation and fast. She just hoped the ambassador didn't try to stonewall her or anything. She needed her offer to make it to the states, before this became a major catastrophe.

She had been waiting for nearly a half-hour by this point, but she felt that she'd be allowed in very soon. After all, even if Hellsing hadn't made much of a name for itself in recent years, Daphne was still Riley's wife, and when it came to the illusive hero of the Fourth Great Ninja War, people were very curious to interact with her, even if it was peripherally.

While Daphne had no intention of relying on her connection to Riley to make a name for herself, she wasn't about to turn down an advantage like this, if only so she could get her feet off the ground. Another moment passed when the door to the Ambassador's office opened and his secretary motioned for Daphne and Walter to enter.

"Greetings my Lady. I apologize for the delay I was just finishing up some pressing business. Do please have a seat." The American Ambassador offered quickly after shaking Daphne's hand.

He was a portly man, with sharp eyes. A seasoned politician with decades of experience in this particular field. He seemed overly kind, jovial even, but Daphne quickly sensed a veneer of falsity to that kindness. It was a front. An act to make one lower their guard. She adopted a pleasant smile and took her seat.

"I understand that the Hellsing organization has some business they wish to discuss with MACUSA. What can we do for you?" He asked, getting right to the point.

"As Ambassador to Britain, I'm sure you're aware of the role Hellsing once played as a safeguard to protect the statute of secrecy, both at home, and abroad. We offer our services in dealing with threats the world over. For a long time the organization entered a rut. Now that it is in my hands, I intend to revitalize it, and return it to it's proper role. I am here on behalf of the Cysgodol Legion. My Wife informed their commander that an incident has begun occuring within the heartland of the USA. A place called Raccoon City. The city appears to be in the beginning stages of a massive viral outbreak, that seems to be reanimating the dead. As of right now, we can only speculate on what the cause is, and why this is occurring, but as we are allies, and as the Legion has some experience in dealing with the undead, I was asked to approach MACUSA and offer our aid in assisting with this disaster." Daphne explained, earning a very surprised look from the man, which then turned serious.

He began to speak, but Daphne cut him off by answering the question she knew he was going to ask.

"Ever since sealing away the Ten-Tails, my Wife's sensory abilities have risen to an unprecedented level. This catastrophe is something she can easily feel, even from half a world away." Daphne said to him, earning a solemn nod from the man.

"I see. I will, of course, have to get into contact with my colleagues across the pond, and ensure that what you say is true. But I will pass on your offer to them if this turns out to actually be happening. I thank you for bringing this to my attention. If possible, I would like to ask that you inform Lord Uchiha that I will be in contact with him once I've gathered a response from my colleagues. Is there anything else?" The US ambassador replied, the concern on his face was unmistakable.

"No. Please keep me appraised of the situation. I will inform the Lord-Commander and ensure he is available for your reply." Daphne responded as she rose to her feet.

Walker and her were quickly out the door and marching down the hallway.

"Do you think the Americans will allow our help?" Walter inquired.

"No one likes having others step in and show them up by fixing their problems. With that being said, the Legion is a rival. They are something the Americans have never seen before. All they and the rest of the world have to go off of is stories of what happened during the Fourth Shinobi World War. This is an opportunity for them. If they do agree, you can be certain that they'll be watching us." Daphne responded, earning a smile from the old man.

"You're probably accurate in that regard ma'am." Walter agreed as the two headed back for Hellsing Manor.

**-Raccoon City, USA. September 24th 1998-**

"I told you already, she's not there. The house is empty." Kiba stated to the increasingly worried Birkin couple.

"Things on the surface are growing worse. With each passing moment more and more people are showing the preliminary signs of infection from the T-Virus. And our scans indicate the while active in the sewers, William's mutated form released several G-parasites." Wesker added, earning a tired sigh from William while Annette continued to pace, occasionally taking a drag from a cigarette.

"She must have gotten scared when we didn't come home." William stated after a few moments of silence.

"Okay, then where would she go?" Kiba asked. As the leader of the scouting team that was looking for Sherry Birkin, Kiba had been up to the surface twice now to try and locate the girl. First checking at the Birkin residence, and after finding nothing and returning he went back to check again, and this time try and locate something that belonged to Sherry to try and track her. The issue with that being that he didn't get more then a quarter mile from the house before her scent vanished amongst the millions of other scents brought up by the chaotic city as it slipped into anarchy.

"I don't know. We always taught her to stay away from strangers. We were always worried that someone may try to use her to get at our research so we always made sure she knew not to trust people she didn't know." Annette responded as she ran a hand over her head.

"We should be up there looking." William stated as he lifted his gaze to meet with Kiba's.

"Look man, I know this is rough, but if me and Akamaru can't track her scent, then she's most likely lost somewhere in the city. Running around aimlessly wont help anyone. You need to think… where would she go, if you didn't come home?" Kiba stated piercing William with a steady gaze.

Nearby Riley, and Wesker were listening to the conversation.

"Anything you can do to speed this along?" Wesker inquired.

"Were she magical, yes. People with magic, leave traces of it behind. If she had magic, an Aburame could track her with it's insects. Or I could locate her with my senses. The issue is that she's a muggle. Her magical signature is tiny. In the chaos of a regular city of one hundred thousand, it'd be a pain in the ass to find her. But this… this is getting worse by the moment. The Inuzuka is right. She's lost. And we need to find her if we're going to get them on our side." Riley responded.

"If she falls, you can revive her, correct?" Wesker inquired.

"Up to a certain point. I have a few abilities that can allow me to resurrect the dead. If I get their soul I can bring them back any time, just like I did with William. However… if they die and I'm not around to take their soul, then within a few hours it'll depart from this realm. Now… if the soul is still earth bound and I'm not there to get their soul but I know that they're dead, I can use a power called **Rinne Rebirth**, to bring them back, and restore their body to full health, even if I'm far away. But… if they've been dead for a while, and their soul is gone. Then I can still bring them back, but I have to trade a piece of my life force to do it. Humans cant repair their lifeforce with any sort of ease, and such damage will usually kill them. I can repair my lifeforce easily. The issue is, that the piece of my lifeforce sacrificed comes into contact with the soul I'm bringing back, causing it to become corrupted and become a demon. So if that happens, I can bring her back, but if we're not fast enough… it'll be as a monster. And I doubt those two will live long enough to realize that what came back isn't their daughter anymore." Riley responded in a low tone, making sure no one else could hear her other then Wesker.

"Fascinating." Wesker replied thoughtfully as he turned his gaze out across the room.

After a few moments of silence, Riley shook her head and stepped towards the Birkins.

"Alright… everyone listen up!" Riley called out, drawing the attention of everyone present.

"We still don't have clearance to actively aid the people here, so we need to stay in the shadows. I want four of you to remain here and guard the scientists. With the NEST cleared of hostiles, it's the safest place for them right now. The others are going up to the surface to begin handling the rest of our secondary objectives. While we're carrying out our assignments, our recon team is going to scour the city for Sherry Birkin. Start with the most likely places a kid would go for sanctuary. The hospital. The Fire Department, the Police Station. Town Hall. Places a kid would feel safe. Find her." Riley ordered, earning nods from the men and women around her.

"What'll you being doing?" Kabuto inquired.

"I'm going to try and stem the tide of the infection. If the dead are rising and causing chaos, then someone needs to buy the innocent some breathing room. I'll be going as an open clothes agent. Unaffiliated with the Legion. So from this point on, resume operations as you were previously. Focus on your missions. And lets get this done. Once the girl is found and your secondary assignments are completed, remove everyone to safety and drown this place." Riley commanded before vanishing in a burst of speed, intent on dealing with this situation, just like Itachi had asked of her.

**-To Be Continued-**

_**Alright this chapter and the followup are out at the same time. Sorry this took so long, I took a little brake along with my surgury. Sorry that it happened, hopefully I don't hit anymore snags. These two chapters are about 20,000 words so I hope you've all got time for it. Enjoy :)**_


	5. 5: Hunting for Monsters

_**Alright and here's part two for you. Hope everyone enjoys. This was done in honor of the RE2 remake. It was definitely enjoyable to me, and I hope to see a remake of RE3 in the future. Just to make it clear again, some events are skewed due to Riley's involvement and some things are changed because of it, I hope this doesn't cause too much of a headaches for anyone. Hope everyone enjoys.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

Chapter 5: Hunting for monsters

**-Raccoon City, USA. September 25th 1998-**

"You see anything." Kiba inquired. By his side was Neji who was using his **Byakugan** to scan the Raccoon City Police Department for any signs of Sherry Birkin. The last twenty-four hours had seen a sharp rise in the pandemic. Zombies filled the streets, and various BOWs were suddenly appearing, as if they had been released for some unknown purpose.

Wesker and William Birkin both believed that these BOWs were not natural, and did not belong to the NEST or it's affiliated research centers. Instead they both suspected that this was the result of Umbrella using this opportunity to unleash more Bioweapons in the city so that they could gauge their effectiveness against combatants such as the police.

"Yes. I see a small child hiding within a back room on the upper floor. She looks around the right age." Neji responded.

"Sweet. Alright then lets check it out." Kiba responded as he and Akamaru moved to sneak into the building.

Elsewhere in the city, Riley directed a handful of civilians towards the Raccoon City Zoo, where the US military had set up an extraction point to fly people out of the city.

The Legion had yet to receive the green light to begin actively assisting people, so Riley was out of the uniform, and had altered her appearance to look nothing like her true self. If the Legion was spotted here, it would cause problems, if Riley was spotted here, it would be a whole lot worse. Just like with Gaia during the Triwizard Tournament, it was required by Riley's host nation to inform the ICW as to where she was, and where she was going. As a Jinchuriki, she was technically a weapon of mass destruction, and the ICW didn't like not knowing exactly where she was. The US government, both magical and muggle, would not take kindly to her being here without their consent so she kept her power in check and kept from being recognized.

It was for this exact reason that she was restraining herself, when dealing with the zombies. If they were allowed here, Riley could have easily unleashed a massive army of clones to fight the zombies and eradicate them. Sadly, politics were involved, and with Daphne, and Itachi both now tied to the British Government, and thus tied to the fallout if Riley were found to be somewhere she shouldn't be, because of that, Riley chose to keep herself in check.

The civilian casualties were of little bother. Much like with many other places, Riley didn't openly enjoy their suffering despite finding the chaos and carnage delightful to her demonic senses. Sadly for the people of this city, Riley didn't know them, and thus cared very little for them. She was helping them now to the best of her abilities while preventing any issues for her own allies, but that had more to do with the simple fact that it had been asked of her by Itachi, then due to any moral imperative.

As far as Riley was concerned, this all fell on Umbrella. Every innocent person that died here, every loss, it was all their fault. But beyond that… Riley simply felt no urgency to protect these people. It was so strange. It had been well over a year now since the Fourth Great Ninja War, and thus it had been a while since Riley had endured a large scale conflict such as this. Engrossing herself in the chaos and carnage once more, she found that it was washed over her without causing much concern. The screams of the dying drew little urgency from her, and in most cases, Riley was either bored or simply curious.

A detached part of herself knew that these feelings had to do with her demonic nature. These people weren't her friends or her allies, and this wasn't her home, so she was almost completely detached from it. Getting herself to care for the brief existence of people she didn't know was becoming more of a trial, the more time that passed.

It was honestly very concerning to her as she thought about it. How little she cared about the situation, when she was detached from it. The War had been personal, and it had led to the whole world being in danger, and thus it needed to be Riley's focus, and she needed to care about it. This was something else though, something so much lesser in her eyes.

A small part of Riley, that had always been there, scolding her for doing wrong, and embracing her demonic instincts, once again reared its head to once more scold her for not treating this with the same urgency. Riley knew she should. She knew she should care, she simply didn't. Or more specifically, she simply didn't care that much. She was asked to do this, so she would. But this whole situation she treated with the same level of detachment she did when she went out to satiate her bloodlust by killing criminals. Just another day.

"**It's hard to give a damn about people you don't know and who's lives don't affect yours."** Kurama hummed, earning a mental nod of agreement from Riley.

"_I hate how little this is getting from me. I wish I were more affected but I just can't seem to force myself to feel for these people. Was I always like this? This feels new." _Riley responded with an internal growl.

"**Hmm**…** you know now that you mention it, I'm not actually sure. Outside of those back in Britain, I've never really cared at all about humans. This is nothing more then a delightful little show to me. Sad really, I know father would disapprove, just as I'm sure your mates wouldn't be too happy to know you're so bored."** Kurama responded to her.

"_**They are detached from us. They are nothing but insects. Not our allies. Not our family. They are little people, with no hope left in the world. They cry out for a hero, and the worlds send an apathetic demon. These foes are weak, and yet still these little people fall to them. Are their lives truly worth anything? If they died, what would be lost other then sheep?"**_The Darkness inquired.

Riley came to a pause in the middle of a street. A curious look on her face. To hide her appearance, she had stuck to utilizing a handgun to fell the undead hordes. On occasion when a larger mutated creature would appear Riley would channel a bit of Wind magic into a bullet and she would watch as the bullet tore through the beast, like it wasn't even there.

Occasionally Riley would feel a rush when she'd pull the trigger and a bullet with just a tad bit of wind magic would rush forward into a crowd of zombies and cut through a dozen of them before stopping, sending blood spraying through the air, and on occasion, limbs would be severed as well. It was that modicum of excitement that Riley knew would lead her to getting caught if anyone saw her do it.

Despite taking the appearance of a blonde, middle aged woman, the bloodlust on her face would have tipped off keener minds that something wasn't right.

"**He's right you know. You only worry about the world and the people in it, when it's your loved ones who are at risk."** Kurama said to her.

"_And I know it's wrong. When the whole world was in danger, I moved heaven and earth to keep it safe. With Luna's prophecy and the Day of Wrath, I can't help but be so focused on stopping them. Yet here we are, a hundred thousand people on the chopping block, and I'm fighting to stop myself from yawning. Remind me again why I don't unleash my powers and slaughter all of these undead fucks?"_ Riley responded.

"**Well… the long answer is that if you do that, every magical in the country, sensor or not, will know you're here, and then there will be a hellstorm back in Britain which will lead to a major headache for yourself, Itachi, Daphne, Arturia, Lucius, the Wizengamot, the ministry itself, maybe even the British Muggle government. The short answer is that it would just be a headache, and you're only here because it was asked of you."** Kurama answered, earning a snort from Riley.

"_I need something. I need to do something that gives this a purpose. Saving people should be it's own reward, but I don't care enough about these poor bastards. Maybe I should just go get my mates. If they were here, I know I'd actually be trying."_ Riley suggested, once again sighing.

"**You're not a hero Riley. Despite what others think of you. You'll do what's right, because it needs to be done, but that doesn't mean you have to like it, or enjoy it. Sadly if you hadn't absorbed Ralael you could have just used that disguise to ends this in a heartbeat."** The fox said to her.

"**_You may not be able to run free… but they can."_** The Darkness whispered, as it pushed forward an idea into her mind. Riley saw an image of her familiars flash through her mind and for a second she became thoughtful.

"A testing ground?" Riley mused as she gazed up at the sky. For a few seconds she was quiet, then she suddenly smirked and flashed through handsigns.

A poof of smoke filled the air as she summoned for Skorge.

"Hello my wonderful servant." Riley greeted as the demon dropped to a knee and bowed to her.

"There are undead that need slaying and plenty of carnage to be had. Focus on clearing the way for civilians. I want to see what you can really do when you let loose." Riley commanded earning a nod from the beast.

He quickly rose to his feet and summoned forth his chainsaw staff. With a wild howl the demonic familiar rushed forward into a crowd of zombies, the buzzing of twin chainsaws drowning out their moans as Skorge cut through them.

Riley smirked as she watched it happen, finding enjoyment in using this as an opportunity to test her familiar.

"_We found the Birkin girl. She was hiding in the police station." _Kiba reported through the Gravemind._ "We'll be taking her down to the NEST, and we'll be ready to evacuate the VIPs in short order." _

Riley let out a sigh at hearing that. She glanced up towards the sky for several long moments before turning back to watching Skorge. The others could finish their work and leave. She'd stay behind and get more people out of the city.

Several hours later, Riley was now with Kabuto and Wesker. After getting the Birkins, along with the rest of the NEST scientists out of the city and to a safe location in the mountains, as well as flooding the NEST with acid, the two men returned to observe the effects of the outbreak and to find out what Riley was doing, both finding her actions to a be a source of immense curiosity.

They eventually tracked her down while she was watching over Skorge gutting a handful of Licker type BOWs.

Riley allowed the two to join her as she continued to conduct her tests, pitting her champion against the various bioweapons, all the while sending civilian survivors to the Raccoon city zoo where supposedly the military was still evacuating them.

Just after 9 pm, the trio came across and interesting sight. A massive man in an overcoat with gray skin.

"What is it?" Riley inquired from where they knelt, overlooking the street. Skorge had already stepped out in front of the creature drawing it's attention and approaching it with vicious intent.

"Tyrant model T-103. A mass produced variant. None were present in the NEST though. This one being here furthers my suspicions that Umbrella is deploying it's weapons to test them in live combat scenarios." Wesker noted, as his eyes narrowed.

Riley stared down at the towering BOW. It stood at nearly nine feet tall, nearly two full feet taller then Skorge. It was heavily muscled, and had this cold dead look, plastered on it's face. It made it's way towards Skorge, identifying the demon as a threat.

"_If they're deploying weapons to study their effects, then someone has to be nearby to monitor what's going on."_ Riley thought to herself as she activated her **Byakugan, **causing the **Tenseigan** to also manifest in her eyes.

Riley had yet to discover a way to differentiate the two. She couldn't activate the **Tenseigan's** powers which caused the glowing floral pattern to appear beneath the ripple pattern in her **Rinne Sharingan**, without activating the **Byakugan**, which caused her pupil to turn white and the veins around her eyes to bulge out. Riley suspected there was a way to add the **Tenseigan's **powers to her own, completely, without needing to keep activating the **Byakugan** in order to do it, she just didn't know how. Technically speaking, the **Byakugan** and **Tenseigan** belonged to the exact same family tree, just like the **Sharingan** and the **Rinnegan**. Theoretically, it should be possible to permanently add the **Tenseigan's **powers to her own, without needing to keep activating the **Byakugan **aspects in order to make it so. Unfortunately, the only people with any real knowledge of the **Tenseigan** were Kaguya, Black Zetsu because of Kaguya, Hagoromo, and Hamura. Hamura was dead, Kaguya had never had it, and neither did Black Zetsu. So that only left Hagoromo to ask once Riley finally made her mates into her paths.

It was an issue for later. For now, Riley used her vision to gaze at the surrounding buildings, piercing through their brick exterior. It took less then three seconds for her to find what she was looking for. On their side of the street, a few houses down, hidden in a building were three men. Each one was armed, and they were dressed like paramilitary members. They had a camera on a tripod pointed out the window at the Tyrant below, and set up on a table next to them was a laptop.

"Umbrella watchers are a few doors down." Riley noted as she deactivated the **Byakugan **and returned her gaze towards the two giants about to do battle.

"Interesting." Kabuto stated as he corrected his glasses. Both men were now in plain clothing as the US government still hadn't given them permission to be there.

"Do you believe your creature will be able to defeat the Tyrant?" Wesker inquired.

Riley smirked evilly at that. Despite being a bit smaller, Skorge had the power equivalent to a fourth of the One-Tails. That might now seem like much until one notes that if given a few months, the One-Tails is strong enough to bury every continent on the earth under sand, thus exterminating all life on the planet.

This Tyrant wasn't magical. If was just a mutant, and because of that, it wouldn't be able to fully kill Skorge, even if it destroyed the demon's body.

At worse, if Skorge were defeated, his spirit would simply return to Riley where she could reform him a new body or allow him to do so on his own, over a longer period of time.

"_Skorge… kill it, and then deal with it's watchers."_ Riley directed over her link to her faithful champion.

Skorge let out a monstrous shriek and charged at the Tyrant, whom charged back in response.

The two titans slammed into each other with the Tyrant throwing punches while Skorge deflected with his staff.

Despite his size, Skorge was incredibly agile and a master of utilizing his doubled bladed chainsaw staff.

Deflecting a few blows from the Tyrant, Skorge lashed out with his staff, slicing into the tyrant, sending blood and bits of cloth flying into the air.

The trio watched curiously as Skorge began to outpace the tyrant, dodging and weaving past it's heavy strikes and slashing out with it's saw staff. Within moments, much of the tyrant's trench-coat was torn away, leaving it's torso exposed.

"Those coats act as power limiters for the T-103s. They prevent them from mutating. Now that it's gone, we'll see the beast at full power." Wesker noted.

Just as he said, the tyrant began to mutate from it's injuries. It began to bulk up, it's torso expanding, and it's neck vanishing as it's head fused directly with it's chest. It's arms experienced the most evolution as it's hands widened and expanded and it's fingers vanished, being replaced by four massive talon like claws on either hand.

"So… that's their true power." Kabuto hummed, earning a slow nod from Wesker, whom glanced sideways at Riley, wondering if she was at all worried about her demonic pet. Instead of seeing concern or even cool detachment, Wesker saw something that drew his entire focus away from the fight.

Despite the change to her appearance to hide herself, Riley couldn't hide the bloodlust in her eyes when she was excited. The blood red **Rinne Sharingan, **shined through as a monstrous grin spread across her face.

She truly looked inhuman in that moment. Monstrous and utterly evil.

Wesker felt a chill run up his spine. An involuntary response from his human half. An instinctual thing, that would occur in any man, who comes face to face with a true monster.

Kabuto noted the chill as well and glanced over at her. Taking note of her excitement at this evolution.

"_Now this is getting good!" _Riley grinned internally.

Skorge seemed to agree and let out a vicious screech of frenzy. The two beasts charged at one another, once again trading blows.

Despite their distance away from the fight, safely on the roof of the buildings lining the street, both Wesker and Kabuto felt their teeth rattle, every time the Tyrant swung it's massive claws and was deflected by Skorge's staff.

Ear splitting clangs were heard as the Tyrant lashed out at incredible speed. Riley watched with carnal fascination. This Tyrant was quite strong. If placed in battle against a Jonin, it had a chance of winning. It wasn't more powerful then a Jonin, not by a long shot. But it was enough of a threat that Riley would tell one to be careful. This creature was most likely on the same physical level as an average Jonin, at least in terms of pure strength, but it was only about as fast as a Genin. It's true strength lay in it's regenerative powers, and it's mutagenic abilities. Put all those things together, and at the very least, Riley would advise that a Jonin approach the situation with a bit of caution. Like they were going to face a Chuunin or the like.

The two beasts continued to trade lightning fast blows, Skorge kept light on his feet, dodging and blocking most strikes from his foe. His staff continued to cut into the Tyrant's flesh, drawing torrents of blood from the mutant, as large chunks of flesh were torn away, only to begin rapidly regenerating.

Skorge tilted his head and eyed the regenerating bits. After a moment he let out a screech and dropped his staff on the ground. He then charged at the Tyrant which lashed out to try and claw the demon in half.

Skorge leaped over the slash, jumping high above the Tyrant, twisting in the air as he did. He landed on the Tyrant's back, getting it into a choke hold with one arm and using the other to draw a long twisted dagger that was strapped to the rampant demon's side.

With a screech, Skorge drove the blade right into the Tyrant's skull, causing it to go still for a moment and then start to twitch.

Skorge jumped off it's back as the tyrant tried in vein to pull the knife out. The blade was placed directly into it's brain and it was obvious to anyone observing that it was experiencing a great deal of trouble in controlling it's body.

With it's body so heavily mutated, it wasn't able to withdraw the blade. All it could do was violently twitch and thrash about.

Skorge watched it with an almost curious look before he stepped over to his staff and picked it up.

The revving of the staff alerted the Tyrant that Skorge was about to resume his assault.

The tyrant turned towards the demon, just as Skorge rushed forward. It lashed out with a downward slash, which Skorge sidestepped and brought his chainsaw staff down on the outstretched arm.

The sound of metal cutting through flesh, and then through bone filled the air.

Riley, Kabuto, and Wesker watched with fascination as the sickening sound of sawing bone flooded the street.

It took less then fifteen seconds for Skorge to cut all the way through the Tyrant's arm, severing it at about the halfway point.

The Tyrant lashed out with it's remaining arm, Skorge ducking the strike to avoid being hit. He then delivered an upward strike with his staff, driving it directly into the stomach of the tyrant. The blade cut into the creatures body, sawing deeper and deeper, until it pierced muscle and bone and entered into the beast's organs. Skorge used this opportunity to pin one half of his staff into the ground, and lodged the other, still activated end, further into the tyrant's body.

The bioweapon twitched and convulsed as the saw cut deeper into it's diaphragm and lungs.

Skorge moved quickly then, leaving the staff where it was, he turned grabbed the severed arm of the Tyrant and leaped high into the air, raising the arm over his head as he did.

With a vicious screech he drove the tyrant's own severed arm into it's skull, sending his own blade flying away.

The tyrant's movements ceased for a moment. Most of it's head was completely destroyed.

Slowly it began to raise it's remaining arm. It only lifted it about a foot off the ground, when the still whirling chainsaw staff finally cut into the underside of the tyrant's heart and began to saw into it. Drawing large gushes of blood from the wound.

Skorge stepped around the mutant and stared into it's eyes for several long moments. He then grabbed his staff and tore it free from the Tyrant's body. With a hard kick to the chest, the bioweapon fell to it's back where it lay motionless and it's life functions began to cease.

"_No letting it get back up. Skorge… devour it and absorb it."_ Riley hissed over their link.

Skorge let out a vicious shriek at that and dove on top of the downed body.

With feral ferocity the demon began tearing chunks out of the Tyrant's body, devouring mouthfuls of flesh. This process continued for nearly a full five minutes, Kabuto and Wesker both watched with fascination, occasionally glancing at Riley, wondering why her pet was now feeding on the tyrant, instead of just cutting it to shreds.

By the end of that five minutes, they had their answer.

Demonic adaptation was a strange thing for many to understand. A demon could take any shape it wanted. By that logic, it could also control every factor about itself. Was it's blood acidic? How hard was it's bones? How dense was it's muscles? Did it have organs? What did they do? All of these things were within a demons control in most cases. Stronger demons tended to be insane which is why their forms were usually more chaotic, with devils and fiends tending to be more in control and thus having more refined bodies.

Logic would dictate that a demon could just think it, and adapt it's body to make it stronger. The issue with that, was that demons needed to know how to do such a thing. Much like humans, demons had ways of controlling and manipulating magic, but in most cases, they couldn't just will it to do things. That's what spells and jutsu were for. They were methods specifically designed to do certain things, to get magic to react a certain way. Demons had their own ways of doing this, the issue came in knowing how. If a demon didn't know how to construct denser yet lighter bones, it could run the risk of making itself slower and much heavier. If a demon didn't know how to increase the density of muscle without also increasing bone strength, it could end up repeatedly hurting itself.

That was why demons devoured other demons. They learned from each other. They developed new abilities and evolved, and when they died, their killers usually stole their adaptations, and grew stronger from it. This process continued all throughout the hierarchy from the lowest little minor demons, to the strongest Archdevils.

It was for that very reason that while Riley had access to the ability to use all forms of magic, known to the Earth, due to having the Ten-Tails sealed within her, that didn't mean she could use all forms of magic, without training. She had to know what she was doing, she had to know how to get magic to do the things she wanted it to do. Theoretically she could use a technique like the Sand Village's Scorch Release, but if she didn't know how they did it, she wouldn't be able to replicate it in the same way. She had the ability just not the knowledge.

The Tyrant may not have been a magical being, but it had several adaptations that Skorge knew were valuable, and it showed as Skorge evolved while eating the tyrant. The already tall Skorge began to bulk up in size, growing a bit wider as he did. His torso widened and grew more refined, and his already muscular arms and legs, swelled in size a bit, becoming even more muscle bound. Skorge's claws grew longer, and harder, his bones denser, his weight greater. By the time he was finished evolving, Skorge resembled the Tyrant a bit more then before.

"It mutated. Amazing adaptability." Kabuto noted with a smirk.

"Yes. It's a demonic servant. Demons are highly adaptive, able to analyze the structure of their kills and absorb superior traits in order to enhance themselves." Riley remarked with a smirk of her own. She had no fear of sharing the truth about Skorge with Wesker and Kabuto. The former knew the whole truth while the latter at least knew about her time as Ralael and thus that Skorge was her familiar. Knowing that Skorge was a demon did nothing to imply that she too was a demon. There were dark sorcerers whom had taken demonic familiars in the past, and that was most likely what he'd suspect.

"Skorge…_ more foes for you to slaughter."_ Riley whispered over their link, directing him towards the watchers in the nearby house.

Within the building, three umbrella operatives were busy packing up their equipment.

"I can't believe that just happened." One of them muttered.

"I don't think this is what HQ anticipated when they asked for information on their weapon's combat abilities." Another member stated as he closed his laptop.

A screech was heard causing all three to turn towards the window right as Skorge exploded through the wall, sending glass and wood splinters showering through the room. He landed with a heavy thud and swung wide with his staff, taking off the head of one of the men, in a single stroke. The other two drew their sidearms and started firing at him, their bullets impacted harmlessly against his chest as he stalked towards them with a vicious growl.

Skorge dropped his staff to the floor and quickly jumped forward seizing one of the men by the head. He was lifted off the ground as Skorge crushed his head between his hands. His screams tore out through the air as his eyes began to burst. The last thing that was heard from the man before he ceased moving was the sickening crunch of his skull splitting open.

Skorge tossed the body aside as the remaining man turned to run. In a burst of speed that shook the ground, Skorge appeared in front of the man and drove a clawed hand into his gut. He seized hold of the man's intestines and pulled out a fistful, to the accompanying scream of the man as he fell backwards.

At the hole made into the room, Riley and company stood watching as Skorge proceeded to use the man's own intestines to strangle the life out of him.

"Truly as violent as they say. Demons are absolutely monstrous." Kabuto noted with a smirk, as he eyed the corpses. "Where in the world did you ever find such a beast?"

Wesker too seemed curious for the answer and glanced sideways at Riley, whom simply smirked.

"This demon was born from the corrupted powers of the Second World War. He is the result of attempts by the Dark Lord Grindelwald to bring demons into our world utilizing captured civilians that he had executed, countless thousands in number, if we're being honest." Riley answered.

While Riley quickly advanced into the room, Wesker sent a glance towards Kabuto, obviously searching for further explanation.

"By my understanding, a dark lord by the name of Gellert Grindelwald, aided the Nazis in coming to power, and then utilized the Second World War as a means to initiate his own war against the allies. From the sounds of it, he leached off of the Nazi's concentration and extermination camps to collect souls for this plan of his." Kabuto offered, earning a nod from the former Umbrella scientist.

A part of Wesker became very curious at that moment to know more about which historical events were actually accurate and which were merely cover-ups to hide the involvement of the magical community.

Riley made her way into the room, drawing in the souls of the three men as Skorge finished off the last one. She picked up their laptop that had fallen on the ground during the attack and walked it back over to Kabuto whom was much more tech-savvy then she was.

"Hmm… this could hold some interesting data." Kabuto mused as he opened the laptop to find the files still up on the screen. He perused what was available for a moment or two before closing the laptop and sealing it away.

"Well… I'd say this proves it. Umbrella is deploying more bioweapons into the city to test their effectiveness." Riley stated.

"Yes. These individuals appear to be part of the UBCS, the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service. That might mean Sergei is around." Wesker responded, finishing with a curious look.

"Sergei?" Kabuto inquired.

"An umbrella executive. The leader of the UBCS. He's the man Umbrella sends to deal with their problems. According to this lot, he's not far off." Riley answered, earning curious looks from the both of them. Neither one knowing that she had absorbed the souls of the men that were just killed, nor of her ability to read the memories of those she absorbs.

She simply offered the two a smirk as Skorge moved and knelt in front of Riley, bowing to her in submission.

"Well done my wonderful familiar. If Umbrella seeks to use this catastrophe as their testing ground, then we'll just have to show them the futility of their efforts. It's time to go hunting." Riley stated with a vicious grin. Skorge snarled in reply, and rose to his feet, retrieving his staff in the process. He then moved past them, hopping from the hole in the window.

"If the UBCS is within the city, then there's a possibility that Sergei Vladimir isn't far behind. I've grown tired of dealing with zombies. It's time to make Umbrella bleed." Riley informed her two observers. Both men nodded and followed after her as she made her way after Skorge.

"_Itachi… any luck with MACUSA?" _Riley inquired over the Gravemind link.

"_From what we've heard from our ambassador, they've received our request. I have the Legion prepared to react if they give us the go ahead, but something doesn't seem right. This is taking far too long, given the level of the incident. I think they're trying to stonewall us, and I don't think it's for the obvious reasons."_ Itachi responded.

"_Well according to William Birkin, he was trying to sell the G-Virus to the US army. Perhaps they don't want anyone to know about their hand in Bio-Warfare."_ Riley suggested.

"_If you're right, this could become a cleanup operation to them. I'd watch yourself Riley. If the contamination continues to grow at this rate, the only answer they'll have for stopping the spread is to sterilize the area. Possibly with bombs. I know you're in no danger, but everyone else is vulnerable."_ Itachi replied, offering her a warning.

"_I'll keep that in mind. Umbrella forces have entered the city and they're deploying BOWs to test in the field using the civilian population, and the police as test subjects for their experiments. An Umbrella executive might be nearby. Sergei Vladimir. If he's in the city, I'm going after him. If I take him out, that'll deal a crippling blow to their leadership. I also plan on hunting down their toys, and making sure they don't get anything from the death of this city. I've done what I can for the civilians, many of them have either fallen or been evacuated, but without revealing myself, or getting aid from the Legion, there isn't much more I can do. If MACUSA knows of the situation, then their watchers are probably nearby. I have to keep things contained and keep an eye on them. If they show up within the city limits, I'll have no choice but to leave in order to keep our presence here a secret."_ Riley informed him.

"_I'm aware. Do what you can, but stay hidden. As much as it may pain us, this isn't our fight. Trust that regardless of what happens in Raccoon City, we'll make Umbrella pay for this."_ Itachi responded.

"_What of the Birkins? And the part they played in this? Do you have any intentions for them?"_ Riley inquired.

"_The Birkins, along with the rest of the scientists and staff rescued from the NEST will repay their debt to society by working for us. We have the end of the world to prepare for. We'll keep them under watch, but they'll continue their research and we'll find a way to use it to our benefit."_ Itachi answered.

"_Alright then. Well for now they, along with the rest of the squad are hiding up in the mountains about twenty miles from here. I'll collect them and bring them all home once I'm done. Shouldn't be more then a few days. I'm getting good at hunting muggles in this chaos." _Riley said to him, earning a hum in response. She then separated her connection and focused on her new mission.

Focus filled her, and her boredom vanished. Protecting innocent lives, wasn't something a demon was built for, regardless of how it was raised. Hunting people though… that was what demons lived for. If Umbrella wanted to test their weapons, then Riley would give them a test they'd never forget.

**-White House, Washington DC, USA-**

"We need to give them an answer." The representative from MACUSA said to the surrounding members of the US president's emergency response committee.

"The deployment of a foreign magical army on our soil is absolutely out of the question. The risk to the statute of secrecy alone, should be reason enough to deter such an option." Came the reply from one of the top generals of the army.

"The Legion is the only organization magical or otherwise, with experience fending off the undead. They successfully defeated the Akatsuki and their army of reanimated shinobi and magicals, whom, if anyone needs a refresher from the report, were immortal, not just undead." Came the offer from the Vice-President himself.

"No one here is questioning their ability. More so their motives, and our ability to keep this from becoming even worse." A senator stated to the room, earning some nods of agreement.

"What does MACUSA have to add to this? What's their opinion on the offer, and the risks associated with it?" The President asked, silencing the room with his question.

The MACUSA representative glanced around the room for a moment as he composed himself.

"It is the opinion of MACUSA that there is a reasonable risk to the breaking of the Statute of Secrecy and with the no-magis discovering the truth about magic. With that being said. We are ready and able to send aurors to the evacuation camps to begin mass obliviation of the civilian population, after conducting interviews to determine what was seen and what was experienced. The Legion saved the entire world during the Fourth Great Ninja war, and our cooperation with them would be viewed highly by the ICW. In full our answer is that we have no direction. We are split on our opinion. We are prepared to assist if the need arises but we are fully aware that the risks to the Statute of Secrecy are high if we agree to let them help." The Representative explained to the room.

"We need to do something. Anything. One hundred thousand people live in that city. We have successfully evacuated roughly fifteen thousand of them. Current estimates put almost half the city down as either dead or infected. Our blockade around the city is beginning to experience almost hourly attacks by the undead. Without more information or action from us, current estimates put the total contamination of the city, at occurring within the next five days." A Military analyst explained.

"We need to know more about what we're dealing with in there. While we continue to deliberate, I want a deployment of special operations forces to enter the city and get us the information we need. We have to find out what happened in there, why this all began. Only then can we truly come to a decision on how best to deal with the city itself." The President ordered, earning nods from his subordinates.

**-Raccoon City, USA. September 28th 1998- **

"All of them appear to be dead." Kabuto noted.

Surrounding them were a large collection of UBCS members, all of whom had been killed by Skorge and his new friends.

As a gift to her champion Riley had given him the ability to dominate some of the infected creatures and bind them to his will. As a wild hunter would, her familiar chose to dominate the will of infected canines. He now had a pack of nearly two dozen large dogs of various breeds working for him. They were more demon then mutant now, with red aura's blooming off of them. These turned dogs, were much stronger and faster then their zombie counterparts, and responded in perfect accordance with their master's will.

Riley was quite proud and actually took a liking to the idea. Not only for Skorge, but with all of her other familiars, especially RAAM. Watching as Skorge took on the dog pack and used it to hunt BOWs and Umbrella personnel, inspired Riley to begin building an army for RAAM to command. He was meant as her general after all. All he did right now was assist Itachi in running the Legion. After seeing what Skorge could do with a force under his command, Riley really wanted to see what would happen when her actual command familiar was given the reins on an army.

While Kabuto analyzed the bodies, taking notes on how Skorge and his pack had killed them. Riley was going through their memories, while Wesker went through their computers.

Almost in unison Wesker and Riley found something that drew their entire focus.

"As of two hours ago, Sergei has taken official command of all remaining Umbrella forces within the city." Wesker informed the two.

"Yes… Time to find him and deal with him." Riley agreed, having learned the same thing from the souls of the dead men.

**-Later that day-**

"What is it?" Riley inquired as she stared down at the unconscious form of some form of Tyrant.

"It's the Nemesis Type. The European branches pet project." Wesker replied. The trio was currently at the base of a clock tower, where the creature lay in a state of unconsciousness.

The explosion of a helicopter had led the trio here to investigate, where they encountered this creature in a near death state. It was still alive and regenerating, but as for now, it was currently inert.

"This being could be valuable to our research. We should take it with us." Kabuto suggested.

"You're correct. It is valuable. But not just as research." Riley responded. She then knelt next to the body, and placed a hand on it's head. Channeling her powers into the creature, she began to infuse it with her magic, and seize upon it's will, corrupting it, and turning it into a demon. The tyrant's body began to convulse as Riley corrupted it, and turned it into a servant. She felt more then one life form within it, multiple parasites churning within it's body. It took almost a full minute, but the creature finally opened it's eyes and slowly pulled itself to it's feet.

The creature stood at over seven feet tall, it carried heavy muscles in the arms and legs, and it's brownish, almost rotting skin, writhed with movement underneath. It had no lips, revealing a wide slab of large flat teeth. One of it's eyes was covered by stitches that seemed to be holding the skin of it's skull together. It remaining eye now glowed red, signifying the demonic power that coursed within it. The creature was currently wearing the remains of a tattered coat, as well as thick black pants and gloves. From it's shoulders and chest, red writhing tentacles emerged and reentered at various locations.

"You can control it?" Wesker asked as both he and Kabuto stepped back, away from the creature as it rose to it's feet and let out a huff.

"I dominated it's will with my power, and forced it to submit." Riley replied with a smirk.

As a showing of her control, the creature dropped to it's knee and bowed to her much as Skorge had done numerous times already.

"Come, my new pet, we have Umbrella scumbags to annihilate." Riley stated, turning and heading off, with the Nemesis Tyrant following behind her.

-**Raccoon City, USA. September 30****th**** 1998-**

Gunshots tore through the air, as the last surviving member of the USS struggled to stay alive long enough for his escape helicopter to make it there. He was being targeted by three individuals whom had ambushed him at the police station. One was obviously a member of Raccoon City Police Department, while the other two looked like civilians, one dressed rather casually, and the other, in a red dress.

He was currently engaged in a pitched firefight with the three, all the while they were trying to stay away from the Licker type BOWs that had made a home in the station itself.

The USS survivor, agent HUNK, was in possession of a G-Virus sample. It was the only thing he could recover when his team was ambushed by the mutant William Birkin during the start of all of this.

He could only assume the three that were hunting him, were doing so to retrieve the virus from him.

He needed to stay alive, his rescue was almost here.

HUNK pushed his way onto the roof, racing across it's surface and diving behind an air conditioner for cover.

He heard the door behind him burst open as his pursuers closed in on him. Taking a second to check his gun to make sure he had full ammo he then shot up, ready to fire at them. He barely made it over the top of his cover when a bullet tore past his head, courtesy of the woman in red.

"It's over. Lay down your weapon, and we wont hurt you!" He heard the cop shout.

"_Yeah fucking right." _HUNK thought to himself as he turned his gaze out across the roof to the top of a building across the street. His eyes widened when they landed on a towering figure standing on the roof staring back at him.

By this creatures side were dozens of dogs, all with glowing red eyes.

The creature knelt, and then to HUNK's amazement it rocketed off the rooftop in a massively powerful jump. It shot into the sky, alerting his pursuers to it's presence as they all looked up in shock as the creature leaped clear across the street, and landed on the rooftop of the police station with a powerful crash.

HUNK didn't hesitate for a second, he raised his weapon and started firing into the beast's chest as it stalked towards him. He managed to nearly empty the clip in the time it took to clear the distance between the two, but none of his bullets seemed to do anything to it. By the time the last bullet left the chamber, the creature was on him, seizing the Umbrella agent by the arm and lifting him into the air.

HUNK pulled a knife as he let out a cry of pain, and drove said knife into the creature's arm. The blade barely scratched the skin, once again doing nothing to the monster.

With a screech, Skorge grabbed the agent by the head and with a switch of it's wrist, snapped his neck.

Without much care, Skorge threw the body onto the top of the air conditioner and turned his gaze towards the remaining three humans. Each one was armed and gaping at him. He could smell fear and uncertainty on them. A demonic chuckle tore out from his throat. He enjoyed their fear, enjoyed their terror. But none of them were Umbrella or infected. So he couldn't kill them. Instead Skorge turned to the body of the Umbrella agent he had just killed.

He began to paw through his body, looking for documents, a PDA, anything that could hold valuable information. What he found instead was a green vial. The creature held the vial aloft, examining it with curiosity.

"_Master… I believe I have located a vial of one of the viruses."_ Skorge informed Riley.

"_Interesting. Where'd you find it?" _Riley inquired back.

"_On an agent of Umbrella's at the police station. He was fleeing from an officer, and some civilians."_ Skorge responded as he shot a glance at the three, all of whom still had their weapons trained on him.

"_A cop? There's one still alive here? Wow… tough bastard."_ Riley hummed in reply.

Just then, Skorge heard a sound fill the air. He turned him gaze towards the sky and found a helicopter approaching their position.

"_There is a helicopter approaching."_ Skorge informed his master.

"_Excellent. See if one of them knows how to fly, if not be sure to keep the pilot alive. Give the cop the vial and get him on the helicopter. Tell him to hand it over to the military. Before you give it to him though, place a tracking seal on it. I want to know where that vial goes so we can find where the US is developing their own bioweapons."_ Riley ordered, causing her familiar to nod.

He then reached down and stuck one of his fingers into the body of HUNK, he then turned away from the three to hide what he was doing and, using the fresh blood, he drew a tracking seal on the viral container and then activated it, causing the seal to vanish from sight. Skorge then turned towards the three and took a step towards them.

"**Fly?" **The creature asked as it gestured towards the helicopter.

The three shared glances with one another before focusing back on the demon.

"That's not our helicopter." The cop stated, not fully understanding what Skorge was asking.

"**You Fly?" **It pointed at them, then at the helicopter.

"I can." The woman in red stated.

Skorge nodded and then turned towards the approaching helicopter it got close but didn't come in for a landing, especially when it spotted Skorge standing there. Skorge turned and held up the vial of the G-Virus, focusing his gaze on the cop.

The man seemed surprised but didn't move any closer.

Skorge made a motion with his arm, indicating that he was about to toss the vial. The cop understood the movements and holstered his weapon. He was able to safely catch the vial after Skorge tossed it to him. The demon then turned towards the Helicopter and leaped into the air.

There were several umbrella personnel in back of the chopper that were quickly tossed out to their deaths. Skorge then stuck his head through to where the pilot and co-pilot sat, and drew his knife placing it to the pilot's throat.

"**Land!" **He hissed, earning a tentative nod from the two, whom slowly brought the helicopter to a landing. As soon as it touched down. Skorge slit the pilot's neck and headbutt the other so hard his skull split open. Skorge then removed himself from the helicopter, stalking past the trio and jerking his head at it, to indicate they were now free to take it.

"**Take it to your government. G-Virus."** Skorge said to the cop, turning and marching away after he was finished.

The three watched him depart before sharing a look with one another.

"I have no idea what the hell that was about, but we should get out of here while we've got the chance." The cop stated as he offered the vial to the woman in red. She stared at it for a moment before offering him a smirk and a nod.

"Yeah. I'll help you two get to a safe zone and see this vial safely into the hands of my superiors." The woman in red said to the two. As far as either of them knew, she was an FBI agent, here to investigate the situation and find those responsible. After learning that the NEST was now flooded she had recruited the two to help her find this Umbrella agent and recover his G-Virus sample. Now that she had it, she simply needed to stay under cover long enough to make it back to her employers. While everything was most certainly not going to plan, this all still worked for her. With a gesture, she led the two towards the helicopter.

Skorge stood on the edge of the police station staring out over the city. He heard the chopper begin to lift off but paid it little attention. He was about to leap from the roof when he heard the doorway to the roof burst open and out from the building emerged a T-103 Tyrant. The creature made it's way towards the helicopter, but Skorge quickly intercepted it with a shriek. He tackled the Tyrant and drove it off the roof top.

The last thing the trio saw of the demon and the mutant was them falling over the edge of the building to fight down below.

**-Raccoon City, USA. October 1st 1998- **

In the early morning, The Nemesis-type tyrant had just finished off a large UBCS team and was currently checking their bodies for life signs. Nearby, Wesker and Kabuto stood over the body of Greg Mueller a former Umbrella scientist. The two men were specifically here to collect the T-Virus anti-virus that Mueller was supposedly developing which had been codenamed Daylight.

With Mueller dead, as well as his personal attack Tyrant, Codenamed Thanatos, the two were free to continue on their way with the Daylight sample in tow.

The group was still on the lookout for Colonel Sergei but they had yet to find him. So for now, their orders were to finish up and rendezvous with Riley and Skorge at the Disposal plant.

Elsewhere in the city, at around the same time, Riley was searching the sewers for the G-infected body of William Birkin. Kabuto had suspected that it wasn't killed, and Riley didn't intend to leave until she was certain it was destroyed.

What she found in the sewers, confirmed his belief. G-virus parasites were everywhere and growing in large numbers. It didn't take long to find the G virus infected body of Birkin, guarding the nest of the parasites.

The creature had mutated greatly from it's defeat at the Legion's hands. It was much taller now, with several massive glowing eyes emerging from it's body. It had two massive clawed arms growing out of it's shoulder blades, alongside it's two regular arms. Much like the tyrants it sported massive claws on it's hands and it now walked on the balls of it's feet.

Birkin's face had vanished fully into it's chest, leaving a much more monstrous head, with flowing yellow eyes. Thick bones jutted out of it's flesh in certain places as a sort of armor, and from it's chest, and a collection of toothy spines, forming a mouth-like hole in it's chest.

"_Wicked!"_ Riley thought to herself as she advanced on the creature.

"**Intent on taking another pet, Riley?"** Kurama hummed with amusement.

"_Perhaps. Let's see what it can do first."_ Riley responded as she rushed into battle with it.

Two hours later, Riley arrived at the Disposal plant where her colleagues were waiting for her.

"Any luck?" Riley inquired.

"Not on finding Sergei, but we did deal with a few UBCS teams and collect some interesting trophies." Wesker responded with a smirk.

"Hmm… me too." Riley responded with a deviant grin. "What's that thing?" She inquired nodding towards a machine that Kabuto was inspecting.

"Military hardware. US. From the looks of things, the bodies around here are former black ops. They succeeded in killing some of the Tyrants, but from the looks of it, they were all wiped out." Wesker answered as Riley stepped past him to examine the object herself.

"From the manuals laying about, this appears to be some sort of magnetic accelerator weapon. It uses electricity to accelerate rounds at whatever the target is." Kabuto offered, earning a curious look from the both of them.

"A rail gun. Alright, taking that with us." Riley responded, focusing on the weapon and drawing it into **Kamui**.

"What now?" Kabuto inquired.

"We'll continue our search for Colonel Sergei and any remaining Umbrella assets. Then we'll go home." Riley responded as Skorge and his pack arrived. From there the group left the building, heading up to one of the nearby roof tops. They didn't make it far when they spotted someone entering into the facility they had just left. Wesker recognized one of the people immediately.

"Jill Valentine." Wesker hummed with amusement.

"Friend of yours?" Kabuto inquired.

"Subordinate/Subordinate." Both Him and Riley responded at the same time, Riley sending a smirk at the man when he glanced over at her.

"What do you want to do?" Riley asked.

"Nothing. She isn't worth our time at the moment." Wesker responded, turning and heading off, Riley and Kabuto following along with him.

Another hour went by as they continued to search the city for remaining Umbrella personnel. Dawn was just approaching when Skorge spotted a helicopter fleeing the city, carrying with it, a large object beneath it.

"Found him." Riley stated with a smirk, the veins around her eyes, bulging out as she extended her gaze into the helicopter.

"Umbrella must be finished with this place if they're choosing to leave." Kabuto noted.

Riley nodded in agreement and began marching forward when she suddenly stopped. Her eyes spotted something racing through the air, towards the city.

"A missile!" Riley snapped, desummoning Skorge, and using her tails to quickly grab Wesker, Kabuto, the Nemesis Tyrant and some of Skorge's dogs and pulling them into **Kamui**. She was just finished with the pack, when the missile reached the center of the city and exploded.

Instead of running, Riley held her ground, watching as the blast wave shot out towards her.

"_So this is one of humanity's weapons?"_ Riley hummed as her surroundings were vaporized by the blast and she was consumed by fire.

Up in the mountains, at a camp set up by the Legion, the Umbrella scientists they had rescued from the NEST along with the Legionaries all turned towards the city in the distance. The sky lit up, and a massive cloud of smoke rose up over the mountains and hills.

"The city… they destroyed the city." Annette noted, holding her daughter to her.

A sound filled the air, as space contorted and from the disturbance, Riley emerged, drawing out Kabuto and Wesker as well. Riley again looked like herself and was covered by the Dementor King.

She gazed around at everyone and shook her head.

"Alright, lets get the fuck out of here." Riley stated as her tails reached out and she began using the **Hiraishin** to take people to the hidden village.

Riley's curiosity and bloodlust had been satiated, it was now time to go home to her family and mates, it had been nearly two weeks since she'd seen them, and boy oh boy did she had a story to tell them.

A whole new world of exploration was opening up, and Riley now had a new enemy to face. The Umbrella corporation. A minor foe, but one with access to resources that Riley wanted. Resources that may prove valuable when disaster came calling in the future.

Regardless of their reasoning, these people had earned the demon's attention, and they would soon learn the error of their ways.

**-To Be Continued-**


	6. 6: Growing Darkness

_**Alright, time for the next chapter, hope everyone is having a good time. I'm eager to really get this story going, I want to have plenty of fun with this one so let's keep on keepin on.**_

_**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**_

Chapter 6: Growing darkness

**\- October 1st 1998-**

**-Pentref Cysgodian Hud, Britain-**

"I'm more then a little insulted." Riley muttered as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Why? Because they'd bomb the city out of existence rather than accept our help?" Itachi inquired.

"Yeah, that'd be it." Riley responded as she shook her head. She was currently in Itachi's office, with her was Wesker, Kabuto, Daphne, and Madara.

Riley's group had just returned from the Arklay mountains and had just finished their debriefing.

"According to their ambassador, they were taking our offer very seriously and had convened a hearing at MACUSA to discuss it." Daphne offered, earning a shake of the head from Riley.

"Yeah, bull. They were stalling. All they had to do was say yes, and I could have let the Kryll out to devour all of the infected, it would have been over in minutes. Instead, they choose to play politics and left tens of thousands to rot and die. Fucking morons." Riley hissed with a growl.

"We offered, they refused. Its out of our hands now." Itachi stated after a moment of silence, gaining a nod and a sigh from Riley, in response.

"Still it's an odd thing that they would bomb the city and ensure that no one survived, when they could have simply accepted our aid and mind-wiped the survivors. That's an unwarranted amount of pride and arrogance." Madara noted.

"More then likely their refusal stems from their desire to keep their involvement with Umbrella a secret. The risk of the Legion discovering the deal they made with William was more then likely to high for them to accept." Wesker stated, earning thoughtful looks from those around him.

"He's probably right." Riley said with a shake of her head. She was half tempted to resurrect all those that had died and leave it to the US government to explain what the hell had happened. Everyone would know it was her, but it's not like they could go after her without making it seem especially shady.

In the end, Riley simply shook her head and let out a sigh. Politics was a game she was good at but she hated when it hampered her. This whole situation could have been handled in a matter of moments, had politics not been involved.

It took several moments but Riley finally let out a sigh and locked eyes with Itachi.

"Well… now we know where we stand with one of our so called allies. If the US wants to bomb their own people rather then risk their secrets getting out, then that's their prerogative. Fuck em. We have our own concerns." Riley stated voicing her agreement with Itachi's earlier sentiment.

"Yes. For now, we need to get those you rescued to work. We'll have them swear blood oaths, and we'll have them moved to the R&D Division and help get it up and running." Itachi said, focusing his words on Kabuto and Wesker.

"I'll have the R&D team take up residence in Rapture. They can safely test their experiments there, and it'll be an enclosed system. Fewer chances for a leak." Riley offered earning a curious look from those around her and a nod from Itachi.

"I like that idea. The city is massive and more then capable of serving as an efficient laboratory. Plus they can begin studying ADAM and it's affects when working in conjunction with the Viruses." Itachi stated, again drawing curious gazes, this time from Kabuto and Wesker, meanwhile, Madara and Daphne, thought on that idea and nodded in agreement with it's logic.

"Kabuto go and fetch William and Annette. I'm going to show you where you'll all be working from now on." Riley commanded. Kabuto offered a nod and vanished in a swirl of wind, while Riley turned towards Wesker. "Rapture is an asset of mine, that I'm leasing it in part to the Legion. As of right now, it serves as a manufacturing location, where it produces our weapons and equipment. It's location is top secret and it's in a secluded part of the world. I'll provide you and the others magical means of transportation to get from here to there, most of our staff will take up residence there and remain there indefinitely while the administrators will have free access. You can use the city to set up with the equipment and supplies we stole from Umbrella."

Riley's explanation earned even more curiosity from the man. Sensing this, Daphne chose to expand on what Riley was saying.

"Rapture is an underwater city, built several decades ago by a wealthy man named Andrew Ryan. It's built on the sea floor in the northern Atlantic. Riley went there years ago to rescue your sister Eleanor. Once done she slaughtered most of it's inhabitants and claimed the city for her own. Over the last few decades the city has been repaired and enhanced with magic. As of right now it's a ghost town with barely two hundred individuals living there, though it's large enough and spacious enough to house over fifty thousand people." Daphne explained to her son.

"Fascinating. Such a location should prove more then sufficient to carry out our studies." Wesker hummed thoughtfully as Kabuto returned with Annette and William.

"Apologies for interrupting your recovery, but my colleague and I have to discuss business with the two of you." Itachi stated, eyeing the two intently.

Before either could answer, Riley's tails shot out, touching everyone in the room and teleporting them all to Rapture.

William and Annette both fell to the ground in surprise at the sudden movement while Riley simply let out a chuckle.

"Welcome to Rapture." Riley stated as she stepped up towards a large window that opened up to show the massive underwater city in it's entirety.

"Wh-what is this?" Annette muttered in disbelief as she regained her focus and pulled herself to her feet alongside William. As her words left her mouth, a massive squid swam by the window, the creature was nearly thirty feet long, more the large enough to cause both scientists' jaws to drop in amazement.

"This is where you'll be working from now on. Rapture, an underwater city located between Iceland and Greenland. Here you'll perform research on behalf of our organization. Do this, and no one will ever know the role either of you played in the fall of Raccoon City, nor will the US government or Umbrella learn of your survival." Itachi said to the two, drawing their attention away from the window.

"From now on you'll be working with Wesker and Kabuto, developing and engineering new tools for us to utilize. Our organization exists as Britain's magical military, but we are also focused on the prosperity of the people who live here. Your research will be utilized in aiding us in this endeavor. Work hard, and cooperate, and you'll find yourselves living very comfortable lives. Refuse and the next place either of you end up is on the other side of the glass." Riley informed them, her eyes flashing red as she did, and allowing just the tiniest sliver of her KI to slip out, causing both former scientists to seize up in fear as their deaths flashed before their eyes.

"God…" Annette muttered, as she nearly wet herself from sheer terror. William meanwhile felt his whole body vibrate painfully, Riley's magic within him flaring up in response to her aggressive stance.

"From now on, you'll report directly to Kabuto and Wesker. As senior administrators from the NEST the two of you are being offered positions directly beneath the two of them. Work hard, and prove your loyalty to our organization and you'll find yourself rising through the ranks quite quickly. We need good people, and due to Wesker's recommendation, the two of you were brought on. Show us what you can do and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results." Itachi stated to the two, his gaze piercing and focused.

"Alright… I'll show you guys around, I'll let the four of you discuss where you'd like to set up here, and then we'll begin bringing in the equipment we stole and get your new lab up and running. If there is anything more that you'll need just let me know and I'll get it for you. Cost if of no concern to me." Riley stated after a moment of silence.

She then turned and began to head off motioning for them to follow as she did. Itachi moved by her side, gazing out at the sea life as he did.

For a few seconds Madara, Daphne, and the four scientists remained in the room. Finally Kabuto spoke up, a smirk spreading across his face.

"She never ceases to impress." He stated, earning a chuckle from Daphne.

"You should see the flying city." Daphne quipped with a smirk as she turned to head off, gaining a snort of amusement from Madara in the process.

"No she does not." Wesker agreed after a moment, as the four followed after them.

**-Fontaine Futuristics, Rapture. October 7th 1998-**

"Do you see this?" William inquired, his gaze fixed on the lenses of a microscope.

"ADAM truly is a marvelous substance." Kabuto hummed in agreement from nearby.

Over the last week, the Legions R&D department made it's new home within Fontaine Futuristics within Rapture. The labs and computers already there, needed to be upgraded, but it was already designed as a lab environment.

Raptures technological wonders were absolutely mind blowing. The automated machines, and assembly lines, coupled with the development of Plasmids and Gene Tonics, opened up an entirely new area of research for the nearly dozen former Umbrella scientists that had been collected from the NEST.

During their time there, Riley took the opportunity to deliver all of the collected research she had gained from her trips to Rapture, and to Columbia, so as to allow the R&D teams to build off of all of it.

While ADAM was the most revolutionary discovery that the two shared, the Anti-gravity technology developed by the Luteces, was a close second. It took only a few seconds after learning of the existence of such technology for all four scientists to offer a suggestion for the Legion to begin acquiring individuals with skills in the field of Quantum physics and the like.

Eleanor was quick to join the R&D department, returning to Rapture and using her incredible mind to help it's newest inhabitants understand all that Rapture had to offer. Upon learning of Eleanor's desire to join the research team Riley pulled her daughter aside and delivered a request to her. She didn't care what Eleanor worked on, but Riley had a project she wanted Eleanor to look into. That project was to extend the range of the Vita-chambers to cover large areas of space, at least several hundred miles, but Riley wouldn't turn away a larger radius for them to function.

Riley's reasoning, was if Eleanor was successful in her research, then they could construct Vita-chambers, keyed into each and every member of the Legion. And if they died in battle, they'd be immediately revived at a safe location where the chamber was held. For instance if Eleanor could get the chambers to function across the planet, then Riley could build a place in Britian that would house a chamber for every single one of their soldiers, and then they really wouldn't have a reason to fear death. And that would free up Riley from having to be on alert to revive them.

Eleanor thought it was a wonderful idea, as the Vita-chambers responded most acutely to trauma based injuries which is what you were most likely to receive on the battlefield. While they couldn't do anything about disease or old age, or something like a person's organs shutting down, if someone got shot, stabbed, blown up, or something like that, the Vita-chambers would bring them back.

Aside from that project, little other direction was given to the R&D department other then the motivations and general purpose of the Legion. So long as their research benefited the Legion or Britain, Riley and Itachi didn't really care what they did with their time.

With access to ADAM, research into the T-Virus and the G-Virus began anew. Riley left her two newest familiars in the form of the NEMESIS Tyrant, and William's G-Virus body, in the hands of the scientists so they could study them. Little had been done to change them when Riley dominated their wills, so they were viable research subjects, plus as Riley's servants, if anything happened, they could be released to defend Rapture from attackers, or Riley could summon them if need be.

All of their captured specimens were placed in Rapture for the scientists to begin experimenting with, using new ideas, as well as ADAM to see if they could further improve upon Umbrella's existing bio-weapons.

It was Kabuto whom first got the idea to see if the plasmids could be used on the undead. The first test involved giving the **Incinerate **plasmid to an undead dog. This caused it to burst into flames and quickly break down into a pile of ash. But it gave Kabuto a few ideas and after conferring with Eleanor, they were able to create a new strand of the plasmid that was keyed into canine DNA, and tried again. Again it was a failure, though it took much longer for the undead dog to burn away. This resulted in them dialing back the intensity of the plasmid to fit with a dog's smaller body mass, and they tried a third time. The third test was a success. The undead canine burst into flames but it did not burn away. Instead it seemingly developed a raging inferno within it's own body. It's eyes exploded out into twin balls of fire, and it began to breathe flames from it's mouth.

By all accounts it was exactly what anyone would describe a 'hellhound' as.

As soon as they succeeded, Eleanor sent word to Riley. Riley in turn brought Skorge there and upon seeing the beast, both master and familiar agreed, that Skorge's hounds needed the same upgrade.

And so it was that Riley's demonic familiar now had over two dozen fire breathing hounds in his service. The first thing Skorge taught them how to do was spit fireballs at targets.

The horde of hellhounds quickly became the spark that ignited the R&D division's passion for development. Upon seeing the new creatures in action, Itachi commissioned the R&D department to begin developing animal based plasmids, that were specified for dogs, and for insects. More specifically ninken, and the Aburame's beetles.

After a meeting with both Tsume Inuzuka, and Shibi Aburame, both clan leaders agreed that the utilization of new plasmids would be the next step to developing new abilities for their clans. So both sent a representative from their clan to Rapture to begin assisting the R&D group on their first official project.

Now, after only a week of working, the group was already knee-deep in research as it used all of the new resources at it's disposal to open up new directions that were never-before thought of. The reveal of magic was another aspect that blew most of the scientists away. Learning and seeing what it could do, enthralled them and earned the Legion the support from most of them, as they were eager to learn more and get their names on new and amazing discoveries.

"Wonders never cease." William hummed as he sat back and rubbed at his face.

"I'm assuming that means the mutation took?" Kabuto inquired, glancing over his shoulder at the man.

"On a cellular level yes. We still need to conduct tests on live hosts before we'll know for certain." William responded, earning a nod from Kabuto.

"Well then. Let's get everything ready. I'd hate to keep our benefactor waiting." Kabuto responded, earning a snort of amusement from William.

Elsewhere in the facility, Annette Birkin was busy conducting tests on the mutated former body of her husband. She had given the creature the name G, and was working to try and understand the connection between William's DNA and the G-virus. Why this mutation? Why this reaction? Was this explicitly related to William or would anyone else be affected the same way?

While William split his time between advancing the T-Virus, G-Virus, and ADAM crossovers, Annette was more focused on refining the G-Virus itself. William still spent a lot of his time working with her on their creation, but the vast expanse of new possibilities opened up by ADAM and magic, put William in the position of walking that path to make those discoveries alongside Wesker and Kabuto. The trio's research and ambition was quickly earning them a name for themselves, one that Annette and her new gal-pal in Eleanor would often snicker about.

"I'm surprised. With everything that's going on down here, you'd think you have enough to work with." Annette heard the voice of the commander say as one of the automated doors opened in the room she was in. She glanced over her shoulder at the door as Itachi and Wesker entered into the room, obviously in discussion about something.

"While the expanse of new possibilities, warrants exploration, there is still more then can be pilfered from Umbrella to further our gains. Not to mention the fact that they've received a major blow to their US operations. We can take this opportunity to strike out at their other branches as well." Wesker responded.

Hearing that, Annette fully turned to listen in on the two as they continued their discussion. Both men noticed her, but neither seemed to care that she was present. Instead they stopped walking and Itachi turned his full attention towards Wesker.

"You have a target in mind?" Itachi inquired.

"Yes. Rockfort island. Umbrella utilizes it as a training ground for their forces. We can capture more equipment, samples, personnel, and we can remove one of Umbrella's chief executives. Alfred Ashford. His family is tied to the founding of Umbrella. His death would be a severe blow to their collective pride and their internal infrastructure, plus the loss of the facility's training grounds will stymie their ability to train more USS and UBCS forces." Wesker explained the reasoning for this target. Itachi looked thoughtful and then glanced over at Annette. She remained silent as Itachi walked over to her, stepping up next to her alongside Wesker as both men glanced at the G, which was suspended within a water-filled tube and appeared to be inert.

"Umbrella has proven that it's willing to use innocent people as cattle for their own gains. Morality is something we cannot afford to covet in organizations such as this, however… the senseless deaths caused by their desire for power cannot be ignored. The Legion exists to protect the people of Britain, but we also exist to punish the wicked of this world and all those who threaten our home. Umbrella is a danger to us. One that has proven it's willingness to allow innocent people to suffer for it's own gains. That I cannot abide. You may be doing this out of a need for revenge against them, but your logic is sound." Itachi stated, his gaze firmly on the G, studying it's deformities with a calculating gaze.

"I wont deny that watching Umbrella burn to the ground wont be cathartic. Though in this case, I see it as a bonus." Wesker responded, also eyeing the G. Each day, the former Umbrella scientist saw his respect for the Legion's Lord-Commander grow. The man may be young, but Itachi Uchiha was pragmatic, direct, resourceful and utterly ruthless when it came to his enemies. But more then all of that, Itachi was utterly brilliant and was wise beyond his years.

"Regardless, as I said your logic is sound, and I agree that Umbrella is a rival that must be dealt with. Rockfort island is where you suggest we go next?" Itachi asked, turning his attention to Wesker.

"Yes." Wesker responded with a nod.

"Alright then. Bring the details to Shikaku. We'll prepare a strike team. This will be a Search and Destroy mission. Let this be our first step in dismantling Umbrella for good. While we prepare for our assault on Rockfort Island I want you to work with Shikaku to plan a course of action for our continued operations against Umbrella. If we're going to begin dismantling them, I want this to be carried out with precision. First Rockfort, then the next, then the next. Step by step until we finally slit their throats." Itachi ordered, his eyes growing in intensity as he spoke. Earning another nod from Wesker, the lord-commander of the Legion turned to head out.

Wesker stood in silence for a moment before glancing sideways at Annette. She stared back at the shades wearing scientist before letting out a sigh and turning back towards the G.

She made a noise of fright when she spotted it's eyes open, staring through the tank out at the two of them, it's eyes glowing yellow as it watched them.

Wesker smirked and let out a light chuckle as he turned and headed off, Annette glanced after him before recomposing herself and returning to her studies. There was something very interesting about this creature, beyond even the G-Virus. Riley had stated that she used her magic to dominate the creature's will, but Kabuto later expanded upon that explanation telling his fellow scientists that such a thing wasn't possible for normal people.

Only those with exceptional abilities or an extreme level of power could use their magic to force another being to bend permanently to their will.

Annette was fascinated by the possibilities that magic presented. The best way she figured to learn it's limits was to study it's affects on creature's such as the G, along with the other new bioweapons that were being produced.

It may not give her the answers she needed, but in this new area of exploration, every step forward was a journey onto itself.

**-****Pentref Cysgodian Hud, Britain. October 8****th**** 1998-**

"So… I'm assuming you have your answers?" Itachi inquired. Sitting across from him was Hashirama and Tobirama Senju.

Riley stood off to the side, also listening in as both brothers explained what they had found in the Elemental Nations, in and around the sight of Riley's battle with the Ten-Tails.

"It's as Kaguya said. There is a scar in nature itself. The magic that flows in that area is being turned foul by the presence of this scar, and the radius of the effects are slowing expanding with each passing day. The local wildlife is becoming much more violent, and the people living near that area are also experiencing a rise in violent tendencies. While we were there we noted an increase in fights, as well a murder that occurred in broad daylight." Tobirama explained to Itachi and Riley.

Itachi was silent for several long moment before glancing at Riley, who's eyes were closed, and she looked to be deep in thought. After several seconds she felt Itachi's eyes on her and she opened hers.

"You tried purifying it?" Riley asked her grandfather.

Hashirama nodded with a sigh.

"You tried sealing it?" Riley directed the question towards her grand-uncle.

Tobirama nodded and folded his arms over his chest.

"Then it would seem our current options are exhausted. We should let Gaia know what you found and adviser her to do what grandmother said and evacuate the area and keep an eye on the spread of this malevolent energy. Hopefully in a few years, it'll stop expanding and the effects will die down." Riley stated, again earning a sigh from Hashirama.

"I wish such a thing wasn't necessary but you're right. There aren't many people who live in that area so evacuating it wont be hard." Hashirama stated.

"For now we'll just have to be careful, but if it continues to expand we'll have to look into other options in order to fix the damage. For now though, we'll send our report to the Kazekage, and leave it in her hands. We have other issues that we can actually do something about, like locating the remaining Akatsuki, as well as the rebel terrorists, and the missing reanimations that disappeared during war." Itachi agree with Riley earning a nod of acceptance from the two founders in response.

**-****Riley's House, London. October 9****th**** 1998****-**

The sun bled over the horizon as Katie Bell pulled herself through the front door of Riley's home. She had just spent a long night at the hidden village doing various duties, things including training, paperwork, and processing new recruits alongside some of her seniors. Katie was quickly becoming accustomed to military life. When she was little, the idea of becoming an auror had been her focus a few times but ever since the fourth great ninja war she felt the Legion was her calling. While working there, she got to fulfill plenty of her life's goals. Including the opportunity to to all sorts of places and see and experience different things.

Right now things were boring because the Legion was still getting on it's feet but more and more missions were slowly trickling in as the Legion's reputation as problem solvers became more apparent to those in the surrounding countries. If things kept up, soon they'd be deployed to places far and wide, and once their missions were done, they'd have some time to see these amazing places they were sent too. Katie loved that, and she also loved the idea of serving. It made her feel useful, not just to herself, but to others as well. She liked the time she got to spend with her team as well as the opportunity to learn more about magic.

Though as a downside, the hours were long, and Katie often found herself dragging into the house at odd hours, either in the middle of the day, the early morning or even well past sundown. Her hours were in no way set, but that did add a sense of change to her work week, which she did enjoy to a certain extent. She removed her jacket as she closed the front door and she set in on the coat rack with the nearly dozen others that were present there. She heard noise in the living room, which was odd at this early hour in the morning. She was about to make her way towards it when a small door opened nearby, and Dobby the house elf poked his head out to see who it was. Katie offered the little elf a smile and motioned for him to stay quiet as she headed towards the living room to see who was awake this early in the morning.

Arriving in the living room, she found Riley sprawled out on the couch, laying on top of Riley was Kaede, whom was cuddled up to her, the two comfortably resting, one of Riley's arms hanging off the couch while the other was around Kaede holding the Diclonius queen to her.

The couch was just long enough that even with Riley stretched out on it, there was still room for another person to sit on one end. That space just so happened to be occupied by Luna whom was sitting upright, her head rested on the armrest of the couch.

Katie eyed the trio curiously glancing between the three and the television that was playing the news. She wondered what the three of them were doing out here. Perhaps Riley was feeling restless in bed and came down to bore herself to sleep with some TV? That seemed like it could be a possibility. Though considering Riley was a demon and could fall asleep at will, she knew that it couldn't be the case, despite it sounding plausible. Maybe Riley just wanted to sleep downstairs tonight, and somewhere along the line, Kaede came down and cuddled up to Riley, and then Luna did the same, taking the remaining space to be close to her beloved mate, but not to disturb Kaede or Riley.

Katie didn't know but she chose not to dwell on it, she was about to turn and head towards the stairs when she spotted Riley's tails draped around the couch, one even slipped around Luna, holding her.

Katie looked at where the tails were placed, extended out enough that they either lay spread out across the floor, or draped over the couch at various places. A curiosity built in Katie's mind as she pondered this, quickly concluding that it was a protective stance by Riley. The way the demon's tails were laid out, if someone managed to break in, despite how unlikely it was, then the instant they got close they'd be shredded by Riley's tails. It was a way of keeping anyone from ever getting close to her beloved mates.

Katie allowed a soft sigh to escape her lips. Despite the wards, despite the reinforced wood that the building was made of, despite Dobby, Riley was still paranoid about someone hurting the ones she held closest to heart. Even now, Katie could feel her own personal shadow, always following her, always there to protect her if things got out of hand. Her own personal wraith to keep her safe. And Katie knew that the wraiths weren't the extent of Riley's protective measures.

Katie didn't know where, and she was sure she'd never find it, but she knew she had a **Hiraishin** seal on her body, just like all of Riley's other mates, that Riley could use to instantly jump to their location if she needed too. She also knew that Riley sent clones to watch them whenever they left, though in truth, Katie actually suspected that Riley sent more then one clone to watch her mates.

It was a safety net that Katie didn't like thinking about. She preferred to think that the wraiths were the extent of Riley's over-protectiveness but she knew that they weren't. In fact, if she was being honest, she knew that Riley's protective measures for her mates, went beyond what even they knew, or had even thought of.

Again, Katie didn't like thinking about it, as it often made her head hurt. Instead she simply chose to offer the three a silent goodnight and head upstairs to join Daphne, and Fleur in bed.

**-October 11th 1998, Gringotts, London.-**

"You have a good day Ms. Delacour." Came the raspy growl of a goblin.

"I will Razorblood. Do send my regards to your wife for me." Fleur responded with a pleasant smile as she made her way out of the back of Gringotts to go home for the day. It was around midday, though Fleur had been there since the early morning in a meeting with several senior goblins as well as Itachi, to discuss the financial status of the Legion.

The legion itself received funding from the Ministry, but it's primary backer was actually Riley, whom threw money at it, as one of her only known expenses. In truth the goblins actually paid a large portion of the Legion's finances, due to Riley's possession of a Philosophers stone. If Riley wanted too, she could create vast amounts of wealth that would throw the economy into shambles, and the goblins did not want that. So in exchange for continuing to keep from breaking the system that their society revolved around, they paid a large percentage of the Legion's upkeep, and as an added bonus, they would receive a solid token of five percent of whatever revenue the Legion made for so long as they continued to finance it. They may take a hit sometimes, but every so often, things around the world would heat up, and more missions would filter in, meaning a solid influx of money.

This financial alliance between the legion and the goblin nation was overseen by Fleur, that was her primary job. Technically she was a member of the Legion, she just wasn't a field operative, and she spent most of her time at Gringotts working with the handful of senior account managers to ensure that everything the Legion needed was payed for.

In truth it wasn't all that expensive to operate the Legion. All of their weapons were made in Rapture. All of their buildings were constructed with Wood Style and Earth Style. Special runes made it so there was little to no upkeep for most structures. And with Hashirama's help, they could grow their own food on the island. So in truth all they really needed money for was a few supplies and the standard payroll for the soldiers to live off of, when there weren't missions coming it.

Again, it was a good agreement for the goblins, and they were actually working hard to make sure the Legion was in a good place to get missions done as they'd seen how rich the daimyo in the Elemental Nations got off of simply taxing their Hidden Villages. Getting a solid five percent from each mission was a steal for them.

Fleur enjoyed her job. She was good with numbers, and the goblins and legionaries treated her with respect. The customers at Gringotts however…

"I have been here for nearly an hour! Are you going to help me or not?" A surly voice echoed into the back halls of Gringotts and it made Fleur cringe as she heard it. Being a bank, especially a goblin run bank, that meant that there were times when people would have to deal with trouble, involving their money, and if Fleur were being completely honest with herself, money was probably the easiest way to drive a person up the wall and into a complete frenzy.

It wasn't just simple greed. It wasn't the overly rich, barking on and on about a few lost galleons in fines because said rich boy forgot to pay a fee or two. No it was often the more average or even downtrodden who would lose their minds for every little thing, and while it was understandable, Fleur couldn't help but sigh every time it happened. It was a well known and established fact that the goblins were not to be fucked with. Yelling at them wasn't going to help you. Threatening them was going to cost you. And being a nuisance was going to get you thrown out and your accounts would be shuttered.

Fleur did her best as she stepped out into the main lobby of Gringotts to keep her eyes off the situation brewing between a tan thin man, in rather nice attire, and one of the bank tellers.

"Sir, if you would settle down, I'd be happy to assist you with your request." The goblin teller droned out, almost on autopilot. There was a dullness to his eyes, like he wasn't even there. If Fleur had to guess, the poor guy was probably daydreaming about dinner, or about what he was going to do when he got off work. He was most definitely not giving the customer his full attention.

"Don't tell me to calm down. I have been waiting all day. I need to speak to someone in regards to some transactions made in my name." The man stated. By his side was a younger man, who looked to be in his later teens, possibly his early twenties, he had similarly tan skinned, and looked to either be a brother or even a son of the irate first man.

As Fleur made her way through the lobby, the younger man spotted her and stepped away from the older one to greet.

"Why hello there." He greeted, offering her a charming smile, and causing Fleur to stop in her tracks and let out an internal sigh. What were the odds she could make it through this without being called a name, or having to deal with a belligerent man, who caught a whiff of her allure and decided she was his soul mate?

"Hello." Fleur responded, facing the man.

"My name's Michael, may I ask yours?" He stated.

"My name is Fleur Delacour." Fleur responded, being respectful to the man as a customer to the bank and to avoid causing any trouble for the goblins she worked with.

"Fleur, now that is a lovely name." Michael said to her.

"Zank you. I am wiz someone zough, so if you are looking for a more intimate interaction, I am afraid I am spoken for." Fleur said to him, expecting to earn belligerence or annoyance in response which was the norm for these types of interactions.

Much to her surprise the man offered a nod and another charming smile. "Sorry about that. I wasn't really trying to make a pass or anything. I just wanted to get away from the old man." Michael said to her, nodding towards what Fleur now knew to be his father.

Fleur was pleasantly surprised to find someone who either had no interest in her, or at least a minor immunity to her allure. More often then not she was busy chasing guys off with threats of violence, due to the affects of her allure. Fleur herself didn't actually have a low opinion of men, she just knew how these things tended to go, and how her allure affected men, so it was common for them to be resistant to the idea of her turning them down. She knew it wasn't their fault, most of the time. So again, it was a pleasant surprise to find an individual who either didn't notice her allure, or he may even be gay, and thus had no interest in her regardless.

"It is no problem. I just have an issue dealing with men coming on to me. Too often a simple no is not enough." Fleur offered, earning a nod from Michael.

"Fair enough. Veela right?" He inquired.

"Yes. What gave it away?" Fleur asked.

"Well I could say it was the allure, but that'd be a lie, I barely noticed it. The Delacours are a noble family in France. Jean Delacour is the head of the DMLE there if I'm not mistaken, and if I'm right, Jean Delacour is married to a Veela last I heard." Michael explained earning a curious look from Fleur, as she quickly recognized that this Michael was not just another ordinary customer. If he not only knew who her father was, but knew who Jean Delacour was married to. She couldn't detect a french accent from him so she was a bit uncertain how he knew these things

"Do you do business with my fazer?" Fleur asked.

"My family does some work in France, we handle distribution of alchemical ingredients in the Mediterranean Sea. Roshank's, Gilberts', and Roth's Shipping, ever heard of it?" He explained, earning a nod of understanding from Fleur.

"Ah yes. Is your fazer one of the partners?" Fleur asked.

"Yes, Tobias Roth. That would make me Michael Roth. Forgive me if it seems like I'm prying but if you're the daughter of Jean Delacour, does that mean you're the same Veela beauty that's dating the Hero of the Burning Leaf?" Michael inquired, earning a coy smile from Fleur.

"You are well informed." Fleur offered in response earning a shrug from the man.

"It's useful to keep tabs on things like that. Find out the connections between people. Helps to know what you're getting involved in, when you know just who is connected to who. My father and I were actually here in Britain to discuss deals with the Ministry. We have a meeting there tomorrow, if my father can ever calm down enough to get his current financial situation in order." Michael stated as he glanced over at his father whom was still arguing with the goblin about something.

"Problems?" Fleur asked with genuine curiosity.

"No he's just a miser." Michael responded earning a chuckle from Fleur.

"Well I wish you luck in your dealings." Fleur offered, as it seemed their conversation was coming to a close.

"Thank you. Good luck in dealing with all the bullheaded males and their flirting." Michael offered in return, again earning a coy smile from Fleur.

"What are you doing over here?" Came the surly voice of Michael's father as he stormed over to them.

"I was just speaking to this lovely lady, while I waited for you to finish with your business." Michael replied, earning a sharp look from his father as he glanced between Fleur and Michael.

"Well let's get going. _I've ha__d __enough of these British slags and their dimwitted little goblin shreiks. And stay away from women like that, __there's always something wrong with them.__Dimwitted, skanks."_ The father stated, starting in English and then switching to what Fleur recognized as German, probably figuring Fleur didn't understand what he was saying. Michael gave his father a sharp look, right as Fleur let out a snort of indignation.

"That wasn't nice." A new voice stated from behind the two. Both men glanced behind them to find, Draco Malfoy standing there. By his side was Hermione Granger, who was giving the father the dirtiest look she could manage.

"And who are you?" The Tobias Roth asked, while Michael buried his head in his hands and let out a sigh.

"My name is Draco Malfoy. And you are?" Draco responded causing both men's eyes to widen in surprise and Michael to let out a quiet curse and step away from his father, leaving the man to sink on his own.

Michael stepped over to Fleur and offered her his apologies while his father, started to sweat at being confronted by the British Minister's son and heir.

"Is your fazer always zis rude?" Fleur inquired, glaring at the man in question.

"Unfortunately. Luckily I take after my mother." Michael responded, earning a ghost of a smile from Fleur, as Draco continued to stare the man down.

"Listen… I don't care who you are, or what's got you in such a worked up state. You do not insult someone in such a way to their face. Not here, not in my presence. Apologize and leave." Draco stated calmly and sharply before the father could even explain who he was.

For a moment the man seemed ready to try and argue but after a moment Draco allowed some of his KI to leak out, causing the older man to stiffen with fright. After a few seconds he simply let out a sigh and turned towards Fleur. "My apologies if I disrespected you. I have a lot going on right now. I will take my leave. Let's go."

Michael offered Fleur a glance but then followed after his father, as the man turned and made his way past Draco and Hermione. Just as he passed the two of them, Fleur spoke up with a deviant little smirk, speaking clearly in German for all four of them to hear. "_Be careful. __Y__ou don't want to run into anymore __skanks__ in the near future."_

She could see Michael begin to chuckle as his father stopped momentarily before continuing on.

After a few moments the duo was out of the building, as soon as the front doors closed, following their exit, Draco and Hermione turned back to Fleur and she offered the two a smile.

"You speak German?" Hermione inquired.

"Yes. I took took a few classes in school. Welcome home, to the both of you." Fleur responded to them as she stepped up to the two offering them hugs.

"It's good to finally be home. It feels like we've been gone for so long." Hermione responded as she finished hugging Fleur.

"How was Russia?" Fleur inquired.

"It was nice." Draco responded.

"Beautiful. You should have seen it Fleur, we got to travel around Saint Petersburg and Moscow to see all sort of sights. The Hermitage Museum was breathtaking." Hermione offered.

"Oh you must tell me all about it. When did ze two of you get back?" Fleur inquired.

"Only a few hours ago. We actually came by to get our leftover money exchanged back into galleons." Draco answered.

"Have you spoken with Riley yet?" Fleur inquired, knowing the two had been out of the country for nearly three months now, enjoying a vacation and some time for just the two of them.

"Not yet. How have things been around here?" Draco inquired.

"Quite a bit has happened here since you've been away. Riley has taken up cooking these last few months. She's not very good right now, but she's getting better. You two need to stop by soon. I'm sure she will be happy to see you, and I would love to hear about your time in Russia, I've always wanted to go myself." Fleur explained earning a smile from the two.

"We'll definitely swing by. Probably here in the next few days once we unpack and see our families." Hermione offered, earning a nod of agreement from Draco.

"I'll go get started on our money, if you two want to keep chatting." Draco offered earning smiles from the two women as he headed off to speak with the Malfoy account manager.

"So..." Fleur began as she took notice of something bright and shiny on Hermione's finger.

"So…?" Hermione parroted back.

"Did he pop ze question?" Fleur asked. Hermione blushed at that and bit her lower lip. Her eyes shot down to her hand as she brought it up and ran her fingers over the diamond ring adorning her finger.

"Our last night there. He asked me to marry him." Hermione admitted, earning a wide grin from Fleur, who offered Hermione another hug which she accepted.

"Please don't tell Riley. We want to be the ones to tell her ourselves." Hermione asked.

"Of course, my lips are sealed." Fleur responded with a wide grin.

"Any luck on your end?" Hermione asked.

"In truth we're already sort of engaged. Just as soon as we have a date, we can make it official." Fleur explained.

"I'm happy to hear that. You two are such an adorable couple. You've always been so good together." Hermione offered, earning a very happy smile from Fleur in response.

"You are one to talk. You and Draco have been lovebirds since you were eleven. You two have always been good for each other. I'm happy to hear that your vacation was well worth it." Fleur said, again earning a smile for her words.

The two continued to chat until Draco returned with their money, from there the trio headed out and walked together around Daigon Alley for a bit before going their separate ways.

Fleur arrived home to the smell of cooking food, which surprisingly smelled good, which tipped her off that it probably wasn't Riley.

She entered into the kitchen to find Kushina there working with Riley and Dobby to prepare a meal for the family.

"Welcome home." Kushina offered cheerfully as she flew through the kitchen busy making a meal for the rather large group of people.

"Hello. Riley, you will never guess who I ran into today at ze bank." Fleur stated as she approached Riley whom was busy preparing rolls of some sort.

"Oh?" Riley inquired, glancing at her.

"Draco and Hermione are back from Russia." Fleur informed her, causing Riley's eyes to light up at hearing that.

Her demonic mate was quick to finish with what she was doing before sliding over to sit with Fleur and discuss her best friends return from abroad.

Today just happened to be one of those days. Filled with quiet pondering and familial interactions.

**-Sunagakure, Land of Wind. November 1st 1998-**

Riley sat in silence as the Suna council debated what to do about the growing threat of terrorists, as well as the polluted scar that covered a large swath of their north-eastern territories.

By her side was Yugito, who had returned from Kumogakure and was awaiting orders from Gaia in regards to the sharing of information and the like.

Riley had just come from investigating the scar of corrupted nature energy in the land of wind to determine how much it had expanded since last she'd been there. She delivered the news directly to Gaia, of course Riley being Riley, this news was brought in the middle of a council meeting, but no one seemed bothered by that anymore as the councilors were now all debating on what should be done about the slowly expanding radii of darkness, as well as the Iwa terrorists that were plaguing the countryside.

Gaia sat in silence as she listened to them debate, it was obvious that this discussion had been going on for quite a while, as Gaia had seemingly run out of things to say long ago.

After several more minutes of discussion her eyes drifted over towards Riley. Riley stared back, inquiring over their mental bond is she wanted Riley to depart.

For a moment Gaia didn't reply. Once that moment passed however she raised her hand drawing all conversation to a close.

"It is obvious that this situation will not be resolved here and now. I believe it wise for us to take some time to think on what we've learned and we will return to this discussion at the next scheduled meeting." Gaia ordered, dismissing her underlings.

It took a few moments for the room to clear, when it did, all that remained was Gaia, the Third Kazekage, Yugito, and Riley.

Gaia was slow to rise from her seat, rubbing her face as she did. She looked worn out from the long debate that had just occurred.

"Another great day as Kazekage, no?" Riley inquired, earning a mild glare from her fiance in the process.

"You try putting up with them every day." Gaia muttered.

"Why do you think I'd never want a job as a ruler. Too many meetings, too much paperwork, too much horseshit. I'd rather lead by example and let others decide if they want to follow or not." Riley stated with a shrug.

"Is there anything you require of me Lady Kazekage? If not I'll leave you three alone." Yugito inquired during a break in their conversation.

"Actually… the time is coming for you to transfer to Britain. Since Riley is here, perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to take this opportunity to travel to Britain with her. Save on travel time." Gaia offered, causing the two women to share a glance.

Riley offered a shrug at that. "I see no problem with it. I can bring her back with me."

"Very well then. I'll pack my things, just give me an hour." Yugito responded, earning a nod from both Gaia and Riley. She quickly departed from there.

"Could you give us a moment?" Gaia inquired to the Third Kazekage.

"Of course. I'll retire for the evening then. Summon me, if anything comes up." He responded, and also departed, leaving Gaia and Riley alone in the council room.

"Well… you've got me all alone, and we've got an hour until Yugito comes looking for me. I can think of some fun shenanigans we can get into, in the mean time." Riley stated with a smirk, earning herself a snort of amusement from Gaia whom took a seat in one of the open chairs and offered the neighboring seat to Riley.

"As fun as that idea would be… there is actually something more we needed to discuss." Gaia stated as Riley sat next to her.

"Alright, shoot?" Riley said.

"Our wedding. We need a date. The Daimyo has been inquiring about it. I know you and Fleur have been working on setting your wedding up, but I need to give him an answer one of these days so he'll stop hounding me." Gaia explained.

"Okay. Do you have a preference for when?" Riley inquired.

"Not really. I know Temari is really excited about the prospect of planning the whole thing out, but I honestly never gave it much thought. I would like to be married here in the Land of Wind if that's alright." Gaia informed her fiance.

"That's fine by me. Tell you what, why don't we set our wedding for December of next year. That gives us over a year to plan it, leaves it just far enough out that Fleur and I wont feel rushed if we decide to get married sooner, and given your titles, and importance here in the Land of Wind, it'll give the nobles plenty of time to prepare for it." Riley offered, earning a thoughtful look from Gaia as she leaned back in her chair and thought about the idea.

"Alright, that sounds reasonable." Gaia responded after a few moments.

Riley offered her a smile at that and rose to her feet. She closed the distance between the two and leaned down meeting Gaia's lips with her own.

The two held the kiss for several long moments before separating.

"I love you." Riley stated with a heartfelt smile.

"I love you too, Riley." Gaia responded to her demonic lover.

"Alright, now that business is settled, can we go somewhere where I can help you unwind before I leave?" Riley asked, earning a smirk and a sigh from Gaia.

"Yes, let's go." Gaia responded rising to her feet and taking Riley's hand.

Later that day, Riley and Yugito arrived back at the Hidden Village in Britain.

Riley quickly guided Yugito to Itachi's office so that he could welcome her, and help her get settled.

The two were rather quiet during their whole trip together. While they were on speaking terms now, after Riley returned Karui to Kumogakure, it was obvious that Yugito was still uncertain and possibly even a bit fearful of Riley due to her power and foreign allegiances.

While Riley didn't know what would occur between the two of them, she was committed to at least giving it a try, if only for the benefit of those that worked hard to shape this possible alliance, and get it off the ground.

Once Itachi was done briefing Yugito on how the Legion operated and where she was permitted, and what meetings she should attend as ambassador, Riley would show her around the village and let her pick out a place to stay. As of right now, the village was still wide open and sparsely populated, having just over six thousand members, since the war's end.

Luckily, Yugito had come prepared for her time in Britain, not only had she been studying a bit of magic, learning how to wandlessly cast a few basic charms which while more difficult without a wand, was still possible especially for Shinobi, especially for a Jinchuriki with plenty of excess magic at her disposal. A few of the charms Yugito learned to perform were the translation charms so that she could be understood by others in Britain that didn't speak the Shinobi's language. But she also picked up a few quality of life charms to learn like being able to **Scourigify **things, to help reduce cleaning time.

Riley was impressed to hear this, and was happy to hear that Yugito was actually taking an interest in her job, if Yugito was happy, then maybe she'd be willing to open up enough for the two of them to share some personal interactions and possibly have some fun.

"So that's the village. Any questions?" Riley inquired once she was finished showing Yugito around.

"No I think I've got a clear layout of the place." Yugito responded.

"Alright then. If you have any questions, or issues, I'm sure Itachi would be more then willing to help you with them. Why don't you give a look see at the open housing and decide where you wanna stay while you're here. Once you've got a place let Itachi know, he'll have the paperwork handled and everything should be golden." Riley explained earning a nod from her fellow Jinchuriki.

"I guess this is where I leave you. If you need me for whatever reason just let Itachi or one of the higher ups know, they all have ways of contacting me. Otherwise… all that's left is for me to ask if you wanna hang out sometime?" Riley stated, earning a curious look from Yugito at the end.

"You know, like a date. If we're supposed to be working on a relationship, I'd like to see if there's any chemistry. So maybe sometime this weekend, I could take you out to London, show you the capital, give you a tour of the place?" Riley offered.

"That would be nice." Yugito responded after a moment, earning a smile from Riley.

"I know this is gonna be awkward at first, but best to start somewhere, right." Riley stated receiving a nod of agreement from Yugito at that.

"I agree." Yugito said. Riley offered her a pleasant look at that before vanishing into **Kamui**.

Yugito remained in place for several long moments before letting out a sigh.

"**Her power is absolutely monstrous. Even being reined in, and kept under control, it's still unlike anything I've ever felt."** The Two-Tailed Cat noted.

"_I know. It's hard to imagine anyone could be this strong. The way power just radiates off of her. It's like standing before lord Bee when he's using the Eight-Tails Chakra cloak, and she isn't even flexing her power." _Yugito responded.

"**Be careful with her kitten. I know what your orders are, but getting too involved with her isn't going to end up how the council anticipates it will."** The Cat stated.

Yugito was silent for a few moments before turning and heading off, intent on locating a place to call home for the next few months.

-**Riley's House**,** Britain. November 5th 1998-**

"How was your date?" Daphne inquired without looking up. Her eyes were currently glued onto an old book she had retrieved from the Hellsing Library. Within the book were intricate details on vampires. Their powers, their abilities, their weaknesses and strengths. Everything Doctor Van Hellsing had learned during his crusade against Dracula, he had detailed within the pages of this book. Now Daphne was busy absorbing all of that information, anything and everything that could make her better at her job and improve the advise she was meant to dish out during problems.

"I think it went alright. It's probably gonna take a while before she's not so frosty with me, but all in all, I'd say it was productive." Riley responded as she strode across the living room and sat on the couch next to Daphne. Also in the room was Kaede and her dog. Both of whom were seemingly entranced by the movie playing the on the TV.

"Studying?" Riley inquired when she caught a glimpse of the book title that Daphne was reading up on.

"Just expanding my understanding of potential adversaries. Vampires have a bad habit of causing problems so it's not outside of the realm of possibilities that I'll have to deal with some in the future. Having an intimate understanding of them, from an expert vampire hunter like Van Hellsing, will benefit me in dealing with them." Daphne explained.

"And having an elite ex-vampire hunter as your new butler, and the chief vampire himself at your beck-and-call, aren't benefits?" Riley asked, with a smirk.

"You know what I mean, Ms redundant." Daphne responded, again without looking up from her book.

"Fair enough. You never can be too prepared." Riley conceded, deciding that it was best to leave Daphne to her reading, instead she moved over to the other end of the couch where Kaede was sitting on the floor, her dog resting his head on her lap.

"What are you up to?" Riley inquired as she sat on the floor next to Kaede.

"This movie is interesting." Kaede answered. Riley gazed at the TV, curiously wondering just what had caught the half-demons attention. It was murder mystery movie, where two detectives were hunting down a criminal who killed people based off the seven deadly sins.

Riley chose not to comment on the violent imagery in the movie, knowing that Kaede had done worse to people in some cases, and being a half-demon she was much less affected by the sight of gore. Instead Riley just kissed the top of the Diclonius' head and rose back up to her feet.

She found her way into the kitchen where Tobirama, Hashirama, Madara, and Izuna were all playing poker. Between Hashirama and Madara sat Kaguya, whom wasn't playing but was watching the four men with a curious and innocent stare.

The sight caused Riley to let out a snort which only Kaguya seemed to notice.

The old goddess glanced up at her, spotting Riley's smirking visage as the men began to play their hands.

"Three threes. Beat that!" Tobirama declared.

"Dammit!" Madara threw down his cards, revealing only two pair.

"Ha! Four of a kind. Looks like I win the pot!" Hashirama stated.

"Uh… Straight Flush." Izuna stated, as he set his cards down, causing the three to stare at him dumbfounded.

"Bastard!" Hashirama declared before falling back into his seat, his head hitting the table in defeat.

Silence filled the room for several moments before the remaining three burst out laughing at Hashirama's antics. Kaguya herself maintained her seemingly innocent curiosity as she stared down at their cards.

Riley simply shook her head and exited the kitchen. Upstairs she found her room empty. Luna was probably at her old home working with her father on the Quibbler, Fleur was still at work, and so was Katie.

Riley entered into the room and made her way towards the bed. She was about to lay on it, when she was hit with an aura of rage that was seemingly emanating from a great distance away.

"**Again…?"** Kurama noted, stirring from his slumber.

"What the fuck…?" Riley muttered, as she allowed herself to feel the demonic aura that was radiating across the planet.

"**This isn't an awaking like Wesker. This is pure rage. A half-demon is directing it's power, going on a rampage."** Kurama noted.

"_The U.S. There's something there and it's really pissed off." _Riley stated as she vanished in a burst of speed.

Using her raw speed, and magic she arrived at the eastern seaboard of the United States. She floated high in the sky over a run down industrial district of a rather large coastal city. Activating her **Byakugan**, Riley's gaze pierced the landscape as she searched for the outburst of demonic energy that may have been caused by one of her missing children.

"_What are the chances, two in less then a couple of months?"_ Riley thought to herself as she scanned her surroundings.

Her gaze quickly came to focus on a dark aura emanating from beneath the earth. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise as she scanned the area beneath the city. Much like the NEST, beneath the this industrial district there were several large underground facilities. Each one was quite sizable and filled with people, going about various tasks.

Riley gaze quickly located the heart of the miasma like darkness that permeated the area. A large underground facility and at it's heart, a large sphere, suspended in the air, with a powerful electrical current running through it.

The people within were moving quite frantically, they had more then likely felt the same event that Riley had.

Whatever had caused this sudden outpouring of malevolent energy was within the electrified sphere. With a glare, Riley shot forward, intent and figuring out what this was, and perhaps finding another one of her children.

**-Auburn District, Fairport USA. November 5th 1998-**

_**Alright, a lot of setup in this chapter, and time for another child rescue. Minor clues to who it is, but I'm not going to be surprised if no one guesses it up front. Here's a hint though, she is a video game character, from an older horror series. Hope everyone is having a good time, and I hope that life is treating you well. **_


	7. 7: A Daughter's Pain, A Mother's Fury!

_**K here's the next chapter hope every enjoys**_

_**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**_

Chapter 7: A daughter's pain, a mother's Fury!

**-Fairport USA. November 5th 1998-**

"It came from the vault. We detected off the chart readings. There is no doubt in my mind." A middle-aged man in a lab coat said over the phone.

Riley held herself among the piping, listening in on the conversations occurring below.

"Seven people? That's…. unnerving." The scientist noted.

Riley stared down at him for a moment before shifting through the wall using her intangibility to move deeper into the facility.

Room by room Riley advanced further, stopping only to occasionally listen in to the scientists, technicians, and security personnel. Whatever had caused the outburst of demonic energy, they knew what it was, and it was more then likely contained here in the facility.

On one of the walls, Riley took a moment to note a company logo. 'Armacham Technologies Corporation'.

"_Another corporation…"_ Riley thought to herself as she moved further and deeper into the underground facility.

She eventually made it to an elevator shaft that descended down into the chamber that held the electrified sphere. Riley was quick to descend down the shaft, moving too quickly for the human eye, or even the security camera's to spot her.

As she approached the heart of the facility the demonic power she felt, swelled in strength. Whatever was down here, it was nearly as powerful as Elsa was in terms of raw energy, though unlike Elsa, this power was pure rage, and hatred.

Riley arrived in the chamber that was the source of the demonic power she had felt. The room itself was a round, wide open area, roughly a hundred meters across. Along the middle exterior of the circular chamber, was a series of rooms and catwalks connecting them to the Elevator and various side chambers. In the center of the room was a ten meter wide metallic sphere. Now that Riley was seeing it in person she now understood what the electricity running to it was for.

The large metallic sphere gave off a blueish black aura, that looked to be like some sort of electromagnetic shield or something similar straight out of science fiction. Just looking at it and seeing how it affected the magic that was pouring out from it, it quickly dawned on Riley that this electrical field was being used to disrupt, or dampen the power passing through it, in a way weakening it's effects on those outside of the sphere.

Whatever it's true purpose was, Riley could clearly tell that it wasn't doing a very good job at it. The power that radiated within was incredible, definitely on par with some of her familiars, in terms of raw power. If Riley was correct, and this half-demon was one of her children, that would make it the strongest of her half-demon children, beyond Elsa, Eleanor, Zabuza, even Elizabeth, and thus the second strongest of her children, just after the Darkness itself.

"_Well, let's see what this thing is." _Riley hummed as she drew her wand and fired a **Reducto Maxima** at the generators on the ceiling. The bolt of magic slammed into the generator, tearing it open in a massive explosion that rocked the entire facility. Explosions began to cascade outward, blasting out parts of the metallic exterior of the chamber.

Riley spotted the large sphere begin to fall as one of the explosions tore it free from whatever was holding it suspended on the ceiling. Around the same time, the shield around it, collapsed, and with it, whatever measure of resistance that was containing the entity within, vanished as well.

With a gesture, Riley caught the sphere with her magic, tearing it apart as she pulled it closer to her. With her **Byakugan** she could see the entity contained within the sphere. It was placed inside of a metal cylinder, just big enough for an adult human to be held inside of it.

Riley ripped away bits and pieces of the sphere until the container within was exposed, she then summoned the container towards where she stood near the elevator, allowing the rest of the metal sphere to fall down into the blackness below them.

Riley was gentle as she set the container down before her. As soon as it touched ground, Riley moved forward to tear it open, when she suddenly felt a presence push into the outer layers of her mind.

Riley flared her power, pushing the presence back as an illusionary manifestation of the presence began to appear before her.

Standing before Riley was the figure of a small eight year old girl. The girl was pale as a ghost, with long inky black hair that reached the middle of her back. Her eyes glowed orangish-red and crimson blood stained her ivory flesh. She was dressed in a long dark red dress that was heavily stained with blood as well. She didn't wear shoes, and much like her head and upper body, her feet and lower legs were died almost completely black, as if she had waded through a river of blood.

The only other object of note on the illusion's body was a twine bracelet on her wrist, and attached to it, was an inky black feather.

Riley stared down at the illusion. She could clearly see that it wasn't real and if she wanted too, she could dispel it by simply flaring her power once more. The feather though, caused her to pause. This was another of her children, and she seemed to be able to project her will and even her senses into these illusions. This 'child' could clearly see Riley, despite being little more then an image. There was will behind the image though, almost like it acted as a conduit, as if this projection could lash out with a sizable portion of the original's strength.

Riley was curious as to why the child was not frightened. Despite having her wings, tails, and horns retracted. Riley wasn't hiding the rest of her demonic features. Not her pale grayish skin, nor her pointed ears, or long nails. Riley also had her wings manifested in coat form, and given Riley's height and the weight of her **Rinne Sharingan**, she should have come off as immensely intimidating to such a small child.

"Do you recognize me?" Riley asked as she unfolded her wings.

The child stared at her, tilting her head ever so slightly. Her gaze was powerful, despite her small size. To a lesser individual, that gaze may come off as violent, even predatory, though through it all the child's face remained completely passive.

Before an answer could be given, the sound of heavy boots racking the catwalks, caught Riley's ear. She turned her head, just as three security guards came rushing out of one of the nearby structures, each one armed with a pistol. They aimed their guns at her, but hesitated when they finally got a good look at her.

Riley glanced back at the child who was still staring at her. Something about the little girl's visage began filling Riley's heart with anger.

"_**Dearest little sister… so much pain, and anger..."**_ The Darkness cooed, as both it and Riley began taking in the emotions filling the small child's demonic aura.

"**They were holding her here, like a prisoner."** Kurama growled.

Riley felt her anger spike as that realization finally set it. Whoever these people were, they were holding her daughter in this place, possibly experimenting on her. Just like with Eleanor, and Elizabeth. Riley's eyes bled red as she turned her gaze back towards the three security guards.

Her KI began to expand outward, hitting the three and causing them to start screaming. One of them immediately pulled the trigger of his handgun, sending a bullet screaming through the air, where it would have hit Riley in the shoulder, but the bullet turned to ash before it could clear the distance.

Surprise filled Riley's features as the three men began to convulse painfully and their skin began to undulate as if waves were passing through their blood stream.

Suddenly, and without warning all three men burst into showers of red mist. Hot steam filled the air, and for a single moment, before gravity had a chance to react, Riley caught a glimpse through the cloud of blood. All three of their skeletons, dyed red with blood, stood upright where the men had been, each one held in position for a single moment, almost like an epithet to their last instant alive in this world.

_**Hehehe..."**_ The Darkness chuckled with demonic glee.

"**She boiled their insides. She vaporized their flesh and organs with nothing more then concentrations of her power..."** Kurama noted, his own visage twisted with excitement at the bloodshed.

Riley turned her gaze back towards the child, recognizing that she had been the one to kill the three.

The little girl slowly approached Riley, her gaze haunting and piercing as she locked eyes with the mighty archdemon.

"_I know who you are."_ Riley heard whispered into her mind.

"_Mommy..." _Came the second whisper as the child reached no more then a meter in front of Riley.

Riley knelt down, even on a knee she was still much larger then the small, thin little girl.

The child did not stop her advance until she was within arms reach. Once within that distance, Riley allowed her gaze to soften and she reached out with one hand, placing it near the child's non-physical cheek.

The small child stared unblinkingly at Riley, hellish orange eyes, meeting godly, blood red eyes. Slowly Riley brought up her other hand, motioning as if she were cradling the child's face.

"It's alright… they can't hurt you anymore." Riley stated, opening her mind and allowing the obviously powerful psychic to bond with her, much like how Eleanor had through the Little Sisters.

Almost immediately the presence reached out and connected with Riley's mind. Riley pushed forward feelings of protectiveness and acceptance, assuring the child that she was here to help, and that she wasn't going to harm her.

As she was doing this, Riley also crossed the link between the two, viewing some of the memories within the child's mind.

The first memories Riley saw involved the child sitting on a swing, tied to a crooked tree at the base of a cooling tower, which was presumably for a nuclear reactor. Following those memories, more came forward, images of the lonely child being poked and prodded by scientists as they forced her to display her powers so they could study them. These images drew anger from Riley, as did the images of the same child drawing pictures of herself, holding the hand of two people. One was obviously Riley, with her gray skin and pure black wings, while the other looked a lot like Kaede.

This came as a bit of a surprise to Riley as this marked the child as the first of her half-demon children to recognize Riley off of appearances alone, not just her wings. And the child knew who her mother was as well. She even gave Kaede her horns and red eyes in her crayon drawings, signifying that she had a very clear image of her birth mother, even at a very young age.

These memories came in a rush, over the course of about a year, probably when the girl was between seven and eight. During these memories Riley learned the name of her child, Alma Wade.

At around eight years old, Alma began lashing out at the scientists that were studying her. She used her powers to assault them mentally, driving more then a few of them insane, and causing many others to hallucinate and one to even commit suicide because of Alma's retaliation.

Not long after that suicide, Alma was locked in this facility. She was placed into a medically induced coma to try and control her. Afterwards, her memories were few and far between, most of them, nothing more then darkness, and loneliness, as despite her body being comatose, her mind was fully aware of the world around her.

Riley now knew when Alma had been put in this facility. From when she was eight years old, to when she was fourteen, she was kept in this chamber. Then the scientists did something that made Riley's blood run cold in a way that it never had before.

Despite being in a coma, Alma was aware of what they did to her. Though she didn't understand it at first, she began to feel life grow within her, as the doctors medically induced pregnancy within her.

Alma bonded with the child growing within her, connecting to it with her mental powers. The baby was strong, but not nearly as mentally gifted as Alma was. Still she loved the child, as it was able to help her fight off her loneliness and despair.

Fast forward nine months, and Alma awoke from her coma, during the midst of labor. The doctors and scientists, it seemed had intended to remove the child via C-section, however, as soon as labor was induced, Alma woke from her coma and delivered the child naturally. All of this, occurring when she was no more then fifteen years old.

There were no words to describe how Riley felt as she watched the head scientist, Harlan Wade, Alma's 'father' take away her newborn son without even letting Alma hold him. It was the most emotional Alma had been in her life, as she screamed and begged for the baby to be returned to her, but she was too weak to put up a fight, and the doctors quickly spirited the child away and placed Alma back into a coma.

Not long after, they impregnated her a second time, and again, Alma bonded with the baby, this one more receptive to her mental powers then the first. And just like the first, as soon as labor hit, she awoke from her coma and gave birth naturally. And once more, without even getting a chance to see the baby this time, her adoptive father stole the child away, and Alma was put to sleep once more.

Ten years had passed since then. Ten whole years, Alma had been alone in this tube, floating in darkness.

There were no words to describe the rage that Riley felt. The most recent memories that Alma had were reaching out and connecting to her younger son. The bond they shared had remained after all these years, and she was still connected to him. The demonic outpouring Riley had felt, had been Alma synchronizing her mind and powers with her younger son, causing him to slip into a violent frenzy and murder several staff members and scientists around him.

The guards had been able to subdue the boy before Alma could direct him to escape. That was what had happened moments before Riley arrived in this facility. That had been what the scientist here were freaking out about.

"My dear sweat child… they will never hurt you again." Riley growled as she rose to her feet. Behind her she heard the sound of the elevator racing down the shaft. It came to a halt and over a dozen security officers raced off of it, training their weapons on Riley and barking commands at her.

Their words died in the air as their brains finally registered the two sets of night black wings that extended off her back.

Riley half turned towards them, her face twisted with inhuman rage.

From her wings, the Darkness' Serpents manifested en-mass. A dozen of them emerged out of the black cosmic distortion of Riley's wings, their eyes glowing a hellish red.

"_**SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!"**_ The Darkness shrieked, either feeding off Alma's rage, or Riley's, at that moment Riley didn't know or care. She simply flexed her KI, causing all twelve guards to seize up in fright, and then she willed the dark serpents forward.

All twelve of the serpents targeted their own individual guard. They shot forward like eels, snapping with their jaws, cleaving through flesh, muscle, and bone like it wasn't even there.

It was over in mere moments. By the time the bodies hit the ground, most of them had between six and ten gaping wounds where the serpents had either bitten off large chunks of flesh, severed limbs, or even in one case, bit one of the guards' face off.

The serpents retraced quickly into Riley's wings as she turned back towards Alma. Wasting no more time, Riley stepped through the illusion of her daughter and quickly approached the pod she was actually held within. As she approached she heard the safety latches flip on the pod and it began to open, more then likely in accordance with Alma's will.

The pod burst open after a moment, a gush of warm liquid pouring out of it. What emerged from the pod could barely be described as human.

After giving birth to her second child, Alma had simply been left in this pod to rot. She was kept alive, but without any sort of physical movement or interactions with the outside world, Alma's body had withered down to a worse state then even what Kushina's had been in when Riley had found her.

What stood before Riley was not the same little girl reflected in the illusion. Instead, what stood before her was an emaciated corpse-like woman. Her skin was pulled taught, and she was rail thin. Her ribs stuck out sickeningly, and her stomach was swollen, indicating that they hadn't been feeding her anything at all. Just enough for her to survive. Her oily black hair stretched down to her lower back, but it had no vibrancy to it at all.

Alma's face was sunken in, her eyes as well, leaving nothing but two black voids where vibrant eyes had once been. The only thing that showed that this person was actually not dead, was that her skin hadn't begun to rot yet. Otherwise, she could easily be mistaken as a member of the walking dead.

Riley approached her daughter, her heart tearing itself in two at the sight of her. This was worse then any of the others by a massive margin. Riley reached her and immediately brought her hands up to hold Alma's skeletal face.

Alma stared back, her body shaking and in pain. Rage, anger, fury, wrath, pain, sorrow, pity, remorse… all reflected in Riley's eyes.

"I'm so sorry… I didn't know. I'm so sorry for everything. I'll make it right though. I'll heal you. I'll find your babies. And I'll kill every single fucking person responsible for this. I'll make them pay for what they've done to you." Riley whispered, closing her eyes as tears built in them.

Despite her anger, Riley couldn't help but blame herself for this. She had known about her missing children for a few years by this point. The ones in the past may have all the time in the world, but the ones in the present… they were living right now. And in Alma's case, suffering.

"I will make this right. Alma… my beautiful little girl." Riley whispered. She felt the tears in her eyes finally break free and roll down her cheeks. A snarl formed on Riley's face as she felt her anger begin to build further when suddenly she felt fingers brush her face.

Riley opened her eyes to find Alma's long gangling fingers reaching up to hold Riley's face, in much the same way Riley was holding hers now.

Hollow eyes stared back into Riley's, and she felt her rage grow to new heights. "Let's go get your babies. But first..." Riley stated as she pulled Alma into an embrace, holding her close and shielding her from what was about to happen.

Power built around Riley as she channeled her rage. Her furry in that moment, unleashed a literal hellstorm of destruction out from around her. With a roar of pure furry Riley unleashed a blast of her raw power, so primal and ferocious, that it had no form, and simply appeared to be a massive chaotic blast of pure magic.

And just like that, the Origin Facility, and everything above it, disappeared from sight.

**-Riley's House, Britain. Five minutes prior-**

Kaede and her dog were still engrossed in their movie, when suddenly the TV went to static. The sudden static drew the nearby Daphne, out of her reading and she lifted her gaze towards the TV which no displayed static.

Slowly the static cleared, revealing several figures with drawn up hoods standing on a rooftop overlooking a decent sized city.

"What's happening?" Kaede muttered.

"I have no idea." Daphne responded. "Hey… you guys come in here!" She called out towards the kitchen where the men were still playing their card game.

The rustling of chairs could be heard as Hashirama, Madara, Tobirama, Izuna, and Kaguya all entered into the room along with Dobby, they looked at Daphne curiously, but she simply gestured towards the Television.

"_To all those seeing this. Know now that the time has come. The End of the Age of Man has begun. We stand here upon the precipice. I call out to all of my brothers and sister, to all of my children. Behold now, the power of our great goddess. To the faithful, I swore to you that her wrath was real, and now I show you the truth of my words." _One of the hooded men stated. He was currently staring out over the city.

Slowly he turned to the camera, showing the world his face and revealing a man with sharp features. He appeared to be bald, but with a dark goatee. His eyes were dark and piercing, with a gaze that almost seemed to reach through the television screen. It almost felt like he was looking into the eyes of everyone watching.

His face held a seriousness to it. A focus and drive that reflected in his eyes. Slowly a smile crept across his face.

"_She shows us now her power. She shows us her wrath. To all those with true faith, let us bow low before her might. And to the rest of the wretches, the lost, the destitute, the ignorant. To all of them… stand and bear witness to our goddess. Bare witness to your punishment!" _He stated, his smirk growing more intense as his eyes shone with what could only be described as excitement.

"_The world of man has brought her pain, see now how such things will be rewarded._" He finished and then turned and gestured out towards a distant part of the city. Both his arms were extended outward as if welcoming someone into his embrace.

For a moment, there was silence. Nothing happened. For another moment this continued.

Then suddenly, Daphne and Kaede felt it. Unspeakable pain and rage poured over their bonds with Riley.

Hashirama and Madara both caught the sight of the two women seizing up and turned towards them.

"Ri-Riley?" Daphne muttered as she started to hyperventilate. Her arms wrapped around her as she started to shake. In all the years she had been bonded to Riley, never before had she felt her mate so angry. Not even with the death of Katie's mother, or with Naruko's rape, did Riley express such absolute fury.

Kaede was in no better shape, having never felt this either. "This…. Riley? Why?" Kaede got out incoherently.

"Brother?" Tobirama inquired.

"It's Riley." Hashirama stated as he quickly stepped forward and knelt next to Kaede placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, trying desperately to calm her down.

"But I thought she was here. We just saw her." Izuna noted glancing at Madara who's **Rinnegan** eyes were locked firmly on the television.

Suddenly, it happened.

Out over the city, they saw blackened clouds explode into existence low in the sky. These clouds rapidly expanded, darkening the city in moments. Then… an eerie silence. The wind died out, and from the city thousands of birds rose up flying away from where the man was gesturing. The other figures that stood by his side dropped to their knees and kowtowed, pressing their foreheads to the rooftop.

Without warning, bolts of lightning began to arc down from the heavens. In only a few seconds, dozens of strikes lit up the city. Then, suddenly, there was a rush of wind, followed by deafening silence.

A low hum quickly filled the silence, as before the eyes of everyone watching, the ground in the distance rose up dozens of meters, before erupting in a hellish explosion.

The shockwave quickly tore across the city with many of those kneeling shaken as it rocketed by them. Not their leader though. He stood perfectly still his arms outstretched, watching the event in all it's spectacle.

Reds and Blacks, and Grays, colored the explosion, though it was unlike any explosion seen by non-magicals. Around the edges of the blast buildings, streets, and all manner of debris tore up from the ground, slowly vanishing into the chaotic cloud of devastation, while others simply rose slowly into the air, defying gravity in it's entirety with the methodical ease of their ascension.

It was obvious to anyone that had ever seen a real explosion that this one was not natural. Something beyond understanding was occurring before the eyes of countless individuals.

The debris continued to rise for several long moments before it began to change direction. As the light of the explosion died down, leaving only a blackened cloud of smoke, and ash rising into the sky, everything about it began to rotate.

Slowly, almost delicately, the cloud began to twist. Before their eyes, the column of smoke, ash, and debris, began to rotate, rising higher and higher into the sky, while at the same time, the clouds began to rotate as well and began to descend.

Within seconds the two halves met, forming a kilometer wide, nightmarish column of death and destruction.

The dull roar of the explosion was soon replaced as the wind began to pick up, muffling all other sounds as the cameraman struggled to remain upright. Again, the man who had spoke stood unmoving taking in the chaos before him with reverence.

The terrifying assault was not finished however. Light began to build within the kilometer wide tornado. A dim orange glow could be seen building at it's base. Within a minute or two, the light had grown more intense. Within three minutes, fire could be seen erupting our of the massive twister.

Hellish orange and black flames soon engulfed the massive column, lighting up the darkened city.

It was obvious to Riley's family, the fire being produced was **Fiendfyre**.

Around the border of the inferno buildings began to light ablaze. Wooden structures burst into flames, while the metal ones began to warp and twist. Even from this distance away from the chaos, they could see through the camera the unimaginable heat pouring off of the this fire tornado.

The air within a hundred meters of it, vibrated and caused everything within to burn.

Riley's rage was felt through all of this. To her mates, it felt almost like a scream of pure fury that started with the blast, carried through until now. Only in this moment did it finally let up, and nature, took command of the chaos.

Slowly the tornado began to expand, for hundreds of meters, surrounding it's flaming base, the city began to tear apart, rising into the air, and forming a blackened superheated outer shell to the flaming twister that quickly began to obscure the flaming torrent in a sea of blackness.

Explosions could be seen lighting up the twister's outer most parts, the heat contained within, was enough to ignite things like gasoline and oil.

It took another minute but the tornado soon began to resemble, in shape, a normal twister. It was no longer the pristine perfect column of death and destruction. Around it's outermost extent, a massive cloud of twisting debris extended outward, causing the already massive tornado to appear nearly two kilometers across.

Riley's mates felt her rage cool as she regained some measure of her senses. As soon as she could focus Daphne tried desperately to call out to her wife, but received nothing over their bond.

"Why the hell would she do this?" Tobirama demanded.

"She's angry." Hashirama stated quietly, still knelt next to Keade whom was still shaking, her eyes wide in disbelief and terror.

"Angry? All of those people! That city! Do you have any idea how many people possibly…!" Tobirama began to shout but Hashirama cut him off loudly.

"I know! She wouldn't lose control like this unless she was extremely angry. She wasn't even this mad when Katie lost her mother. I can't imagine what could have triggered this. We need answers." Hashirama stated, rising to his feet.

"It has to be one of her children." Madara noted, earning looks from both Kaede and Daphne, both their eyes widening at the implications.

"Oh god..." Daphne got out as she quickly shot to her feet, calling out to all of her fellow mates to meet her at the Hidden Village.

Hashirama paused in his movement, his eyes also wide. There was fear in them, fear that both Madara and Tobirama recognized.

"If this is about one of her children..." Hashirama began.

"I know. Let's go!" Madara stated, knowing exactly where they needed to go.

"_You see now my children. This is her power. She cries out for blood and vengeance. To the faithful, here and now, I call out to you. Stand and prepare yourselves. Our ascension, begins now! To the ignorant and the foolish, I ask that you open your mind to the true path. Join us, and stand with the true god of our world. And to the wretches and the cowards that will stand against us… behold your fate…" _The man who had spoken throughout the broadcast stated, his words carrying over the winds as he turned his focus back to the camera, causing Riley's family to also turn their attention back to the TV. As he came to a dramatic pause he extended a hand out to the camera, palm up. Into that palm, a grayish puff that looked almost like a large snowflake, landed on his hand. It took only a moment, for them to realize that it was not snow, it was ash. "…_naught but ash."_

And with his final words, the broadcast ended, returning to the movie that Kaede had been watching. It took a moment for some of them to realize that this had probably been broadcast over every channel, possibly all over the world.

**-****Pentref Cysgodian Hud, Britain. Ten minutes later-**

Itachi stood in the command center of the Hidden Village. In front of him were a dozen TV monitors all playing various news channels, all of whom were reacting to what was just seen. As of right now no one knew anything, and they were scrambling to figure out where the event had taken place and who the individuals were that had spoken.

Itachi knew this was Riley's doing. The power behind it, it could only be her. The question was, why? Why destroy this city? Riley didn't care for senseless slaughter. She wouldn't do something like this unless she was immensely angry. Something had happened that drove her to this reaction. He simply needed to know what.

By his side was Shisui, his friend of similar mind, knowing this was Riley and desperately wanting to know the reason behind this attack.

Shikaku was busy delivering commands to his fellows, as the Legion tried to get a beat on what was happening.

Katie was also present, having experienced the same reaction as the rest of her mates. Without much pretense, Daphne, came bursting into the room, dragging Kaede with her. She was followed closely by Hashirama, Madara, Tobirama, Izuna, and Kaguya.

Very quickly Fleur was also escorted in, and she looked to have been crying. She quickly found her way into Katie's arms as the two tried to shake off the oppressive feeling of their beloved mate's unimaginable fury.

It took a few moments before Luna was also escorted in, she looked less perturbed then the others, but it was obvious that she too had also been crying.

Outside of them, some of Riley's children were also present, looking terrified and in shock. Zabuza, and Haku were absolutely dumbfounded. Elizabeth was sitting off by herself, shaking and terrified. Elsa was in a similar state, sitting next to Anna who was trying to snap her out of it. Not long after Daphne's group arrived, Eleanor showed up with Wesker, and Annette Birkin who was supporting William.

The man was in bad shape, his veins glowing red and he was almost growling, like an animal. He didn't seem like he could stand and his teeth were clenched together so hard they seemed like they might start cracking.

It was obvious that through all of their connections to Riley, in whatever form that took, they had all felt her unimaginable fury.

"What is going on?" Wesker demanded upon entrance.

"That's what I'd like to know." Itachi stated, turning his gaze towards Daphne and Kaede, whom simply shook their heads. He then glanced at Fleur but she wasn't paying attention. Luna was quietly staring off, also not paying any attention.

"It's Riley, isn't it? Is she in danger?" Came the question from Arturia Pendragon as she came storming in through the door.

"I think she's found one of her offspring, and I'm guessing she wasn't happy with their condition." Madara stated in a low tone to Itachi. Itachi's eyes widened slightly at that, and he glanced towards some of what he knew to be Riley's children.

"If she found one of our kids in a bad way, then she isn't going to stop until she's leveled the entire continent she's on." Daphne whispered, adding her own two cents to the conversation.

"We know she's next to the ocean. The city view from the broadcast showed the coast in the distance. Yugito Nii says that the Two-Tailed hellcat is feeling an explosion of power across the sea from us, meaning it's the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. We also know that whoever these people were, they somehow managed to hack in and broadcast this live showing, across multiple nations, even ones across the sea." Shikaku stated aloud to those in the room, bringing everyone up to speed on what they knew.

"That man… are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Hashirama inquired to Madara.

"Yes. That had to be Kane. Riley's so-called Prophet. The man who founded the Path of Unification in Columbia, and in the Land of Sky. He knew this was going to happen. He set this up to show the world what Riley can do." Madara answered.

"Does this mean the statute of secrecy is broken?" Came the question from one of the intelligence operatives working nearby.

Silence filled the room at that, as Itachi stared intently at the TV screens.

"No. Not yet at least. They wont have an answer for what happens, not unless MACUSA or some other magical agency provides one. This showing of divinity as it were, isn't proof that the magical community exists. Just like with the Angel of Carnage, and the battle between Riley and the Ten-Tails, the world has seen something it cannot explain, and it will struggle for answers in the coming days. For now… we need more information." Itachi stated to the room, earning nods from his subordinates. He then turned towards Riley's family members and called for all of them, plus Riley's mates, and Arturia to follow him back to his office.

Hashirama stopped along the way to use his own nature chakra to ease William's pain and help him settle down. He was quickly able to push back Riley's demonic influence as it was obvious that she wasn't focusing her attention on this. Once that was done he joined the rest.

Once everyone was crammed into the office Itachi demanded answers.

The current theory was that Riley had located one of her children and their condition had most likely driven her into a blind fury. For context so that everyone in the room knew just how back this was, Katie was willing to tell them about how Riley reacted when her mother had been killed due to the Leaf's treachery, and how it had caused and icy fury to consume Riley.

While they were all in discussion a familiar face arrived in the Hidden Village for the first time in over a year.

Thomas Gaunt, aka Tom Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort. Voldemort had spent his time since the war ended, teaching the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. His understanding of the art, as well as his command over it, made him well suited to the job, and he enjoyed teaching.

He'd kept out of the spotlight since the end of the war, keeping himself most in an advisory role in case Lucius, Itachi, or Riley needed him. Given the peaceful atmosphere, that wasn't a common occurrence so his presence was rarely felt.

It was obvious that his connection to Riley was still as strong as ever, as the effects on his body were similar to William's though much more controlled.

He arrived and was immediately brought up to speed on the situation.

"Without knowing exactly where she is, there is little we can do to assist the situation." Tom noted to Itachi.

"I know. Our best option right now is to have her mates continue to try and reach her, meanwhile, we need to prepare for whatever fallout comes from this." Itachi responded.

"That includes the possibility that Kane was correct about this being the end of the Age of Man." Kaguya stated aloud, earning looks from those around her.

"What do you mean by that?" Hashirama inquired.

"He referenced the Age of Man, and I believe it was, in a way, a secret code, directed at learned magical beings. Historians reference the ancient past, times like where I ruled as the Rabbit Goddess, as the Age of Gods. Sometime after my defeat, began the Age of Magic. Which lasted I believe up until about a millennia ago, when magic started to fade and weaken. That was around the time a lot of magical organizations began to go into hiding is it not?" Kaguya explained.

"She's right. Merlin often spoke of the end of the Age of Magic. Even during my reign, he hinted that it was coming to a close. I suppose that means he was correct. And this Age of Man replaced it." Arturia agreed.

"But what does that mean for us?" Itachi inquired.

"The Age of Gods was marked by a handful of incredibly powerful beings. Individuals who could challenge me in strength. Those that were either descended from the Shinju directly, or had accessed fonts of power here on the Earth. I may have stood above them, in terms of raw power, but I was not the only god in the world, at that point in time. Truthfully I only became the strongest god when I dominated the will of the Shinju tree and tied it's power to myself. Simply eating one of it's fruits made me a goddess. Dominating it's will and taking all of it's power, make me 'the' goddess. My defeat at Hagoromo and Hamura's hands marked the beginning of the end of that age. Hagoromo and his sons began teaching the average person how to harness magic and use it themselves. The proliferation of magic amongst humans ensured that magic was something no longer contained to special races like dragons, or phoenix, or select beings, and instead it was granted to everyone with the tenacity to learn it. This ended the Age of Gods, and began the Age of Magic which laster the next two thousand years as human harnessed magical powers. Then, for some reason about a thousand years ago, the non-magical users began to overpower the magical ones, driving them away, making them fearful and paranoid. Magical humans, and magical races went into hiding. They stopped teaching their abilities to others, and soon only a select few who had natural gifts with magic already, would be welcomed into their societies. That, I'm guessing, was the beginning of the Age of Man." Kaguya explained to them all, earning very curious and almost enthralled looks from everyone in the room.

Only Riley, and Madara had ever really been privy to some of the Ancient Goddess's knowledge of the true order of things. While she may offer her wisdom to others, she kept a lot of things to herself, only really sharing them with her husband and heir. To learn of how the world was truly classified and what these things meant was truly fascinating, both for the magically inclined like the shinobi in the room, and for those like Eleanor, and Wesker, both of whom were much more scientifically oriented. It was Eleanor who broke the silence, curious to hear more.

"What do you think caused the downfall of the Age of Man?" She asked the old goddess.

"If I had to make an assumption, I would say technology. Magic, as you've seen, can fulfill almost all of the needs of a person. They don't really need technology, as magic has an answer to anything, so long as you're willing to find it. Why use a telephone, when you can use a two-way mirror? That is a perfect example of what I believe led to the fall of magical society. Human technology advanced to a level where it started to challenge the things that magic could do. More specifically, weapons reached a level that they became deadly to magical beings. I'm assuming that much like here in Britain, back then there were many individuals that looked down on muggle technology and didn't see the usefulness of it. Then it finally reached a point where it could threaten magical users, and the muggles used that newfound power to exert their dominance over magicals, causing both groups to begin to despise each other. Magicals were driven into hiding and eventually the world forgot about them, and non-magicals took over. Using technology to control the world. This Kane seems to believe the my heir will bring about the end of the Age of Man, if she hasn't already. In truth, seeing the power that is amassing her in Britain, due to her influence, I wouldn't be surprised if my heir brought about a second Age of Magic. Seeing as how she's been teaching others to use muggle technology and enhance it with magic, I cannot see why such a societal shift would not reverse course as it were, and return the world to it's proper state. Ruled by magic." Kaguya answered, again earning great curiosity and thoughtfulness from those around her.

"This Kane, you know who he is? You called him Riley's prophet?" Tobirama inquired, directing his question towards Madara.

"Yes. Riley had encountered his work before. In the floating city of Columbia, a religious organization known as the Path of Unification started up a few years after she rescued Elizabeth. This organization, while not knowing Riley's true identity, worshiped her as a goddess. A supreme being, above all others from the sounds of it. The worshipers in Columbia were generally peaceful and non-violent but nothing in their faith asks them to refrain from violence if it comes calling. We encountered Kane's work a second time in the Elemental Nations. The Sky Ninja were followers of the Path of Unification and actually worship Kane as a prophet, and savior. They believe that it was his arrival and their subsequent faith that helped stabilize their village during a time of crisis. Kane left a prophecy in the hands of the Sky Ninja. That one day they would face a coming Day of Wrath, that would alter the world forever. The prophecy he left is remarkably similar to a prophecy that Luna saw when she was ten years old. We believe this means that Kane is a seer and more then likely he met Riley a long time ago. At least over eighty years back. Possibly even longer though." Madara explained to the group, answering Tobirama's question and bringing everyone up to speed on that.

"So that man was probably Kane. And he's called about the followers of the Path of Unification to 'prepare for ascension'. He's also asked that people open their minds to the new possibilities that may come into being. It sounds like Kane has foreseen the breaking of, or even plans on breaking, the Statute of Secrecy." Itachi stated, earning a nod of agreement from Madara.

"I think so as well." Madara hummed thoughtfully.

"Well, if that's the case, then we best get ready for the chaotic mess that's about to be unleashed, because something tells me, this isn't going to end well for the people of that city." Tom suggested, earning quiet from the room. Itachi offered a small nod, as he turned his thoughts towards his friend. What horrors had she seen that unleashed such rage within her? It seems only time will tell.

**-Fairport USA. At the same time-**

Riley marched through the streets of the city. Her head obscured by the hood of her Dementor cloak and her face hidden behind a black void placed over her face to hide her appearance.

Chaos reigned supreme in the world around her. In the distance behind Riley, the flaming twister had expanded to well over two miles at it's base, and was surrounded by three hundred mile and hour winds. The twister slowly gave chase after Riley, being drawn after her by her will. Riley remained several miles ahead of it though, and it was moving at about the same pace as she was, so their was little danger of it catching up with her steady pace.

Anyone that got in Riley's way, died. No exceptions. A bus came barreling by Riley, it got too close as with a gesture, the bus flattened like a pancake, killing everyone within, instantly.

People were no better. As Riley made her way through the streets, a building would occasionally empty out, releasing the handful of occupants still within. These people were often instantly shredded by Riley's tails.

Slowly, she made her way out of the Auburn Industrial District and across the city, where on the opposite side, within the forest, there was another underground facility. The Ward Facility, where Alma's children were being held.

Though unseen, Alma's presence was felt as she moved with her mother towards the Ward Facility. Alma had psychically linked herself to Riley, using the Archdemons powerful form as a vessel, to replace her weak and fragile body. Despite being a half-demon, Alma's powers were so great that even without a physical body she could still maintain her form, and the potency of her powers.

And just like her mother, the daughter's wrath was unmissable.

Riley's thoughts were focused entirely on vengeance. Only for a single moment did she ponder which of her mates would be the mother of her newest child, the answer actually lay in the reaction of the Darkness itself. Riley suspected it's intense reaction to Alma's suffered, hinted at her being more then a half-sibling. Riley was almost positive Alma was Kaede's daughter, and that made her anger so much more intense. Kaede herself had suffered at the hands of scientists, for almost her entire life. Now her daughter had suffered the same. Riley would make them pay for this, all of them.

She was continuing her advance when she spotted something peculiar. A familiar face, moving around the outskirts of the devastation, rescuing civilians.

A dark skinned man, in a peculiar black and green full body suit. On his hand was a green ring that emanated with intense power, and from the ring, he was projecting a large bubble that he was using to carry a large number of civilians away from the danger zone. He hadn't seemed to have noticed her yet, but Riley couldn't help the sneer that crossed her face at the sight of his rescuing the people she wanted to suffer.

If she hadn't been so focused on her destination she may even have turned her attention on him.

Deciding that she was done waiting, Riley shot forward, activating her **Byakugan **as she did.

In her sightline she spotted other strange occurrences, there was another man, this one wearing a hood and a brown jacket with a blue hoodie covering his head. He was moving at incredible speeds, grabbing people off the streets, and racing them away to the other side of the city, furthest from the tornado.

He wasn't alone either, there was another man, dressed similarly who was moving even faster, grabbing people and moving them away from the devastation. The only difference between the two, was that the second one, trailed with bolts of lightning as he moved.

Again, had Riley not been so focused on the Ward Facility, she may have stopped to investigate these people. Instead she simply chose to let them do as they wish. She had scientists to slaughter, the civilians were little more the token deaths, to her at this point.

So with her focus set, Riley shot forward, blasting past the buildings and across the city in the space between seconds, she arrived to find a decent sized house, marking the entrance to the underground facility. She felt Alma grow anxious as they closed in on her children. Riley could feel the boys below them. Quickly she dove into the ground, pushing past layers of dirt and rock, until the entered into a small observation room, overlooking another room containing two single sized beds.

Blood stained the main entrance-way into the observed room, and on one of the beds was a single boy, who looked to be unconscious. The doorway into the room was open, and scientists could be seen discussing something or another, more then likely it was either the events that had occurred here earlier, or the very recent destruction of the Origin facility that had contained Alma.

Riley stepped through the glass and into the room, casting a wordless **Body Bursting Curse**, at the two scientist causing their bodies to erupt in a shower of blood, organs, and bones.

She heard screams from the hallways, obviously from someone nearby who had seen the two erupt into featureless piles of gore.

Riley paid them no mind and crossed the room and stood over the sleeping boy. Opposite of her stood a projection of Alma, as a young child, much like how Riley had seen her when they had first met.

Riley silently placed her hand on the boy's head and used **Enervate **toawaken him from his slumber. The boy shot up, letting out a cry of pain and rage, as he lashed out with surprising psychic power. Riley felt the assault wash over her, and a smile spread across her face. Her youngest grandchild was quite powerful, even at the age of ten.

The boy continue to lash out for several moments before settling. His breathing was heavy and raspy. Slowly his gaze turned towards Alma's avatar, which he could clearly see. Slowly she reached her hand out to him.

The boy stared back for several long moments before reaching out and taking her hand. Slowly he removed himself from the bed, and the two started around the bed aiming for the door. Riley knew what Alma was after. The second child, or more specifically, the first. Using her **Byakugan**, and her senses, she quickly located him in another room not far away.

Upon spotting Riley, the youngest of her grandchildren gave her a curious look. Riley returned his look and reached out to him, placing her hand on his head, and offering him a gentle smile.

The heavy sound of boots filled the hallway and a moment later a guard peeked around the corner. His face was immediately speared by one of Riley's tails. Quickly Riley turned, her face splitting with a monstrous toothy snarl as she marched into the hallway and proceeded to tear the guards limb from limb.

The trek through the Ward facility was quick but methodical. Riley tore her way through dozens of guards and scientists as they moved forward intent on cornering the source of Alma's misery and the one who kept her children from her, her adoptive father, Harlan Wade.

Harlan and a half dozen scientists and guards were stopped at an elevator shaft. They were cornered as they tried to call the Elevator and get to the surface. The moment, Riley spotted them she shot forward tearing the guards to pieces, and cursing the scientists with the most foul curses she could manage in her frenzy.

In the time it took Alma and her youngest child to walk the twenty yards from the end of the hallway to the elevator entrance, Riley had completed her work, and now stood over the cowering form of Harlan Wade.

Tucked into the corner, watching fearfully, was the elder child. There was obvious fear in his eyes but he seemingly recognized Riley. Slowly his gaze was drawn towards Alma and his little brother as both stepped up to him. The boy stared at the childlike visage of his mother with curiosity and confusion. He then turned his gaze towards his brother.

The younger boy stepped forward, placing his hand on his elder brother's shoulder and standing by his side as both boys faced Alma.

She stared at the two of them, her childlike visage, haunting and twisted. Slowly she race her hands to them, offering them to the two boys.

Both boys shared a glance with each other, the younger of the two offering his elder brother a nod and stepping forward, taking his mother's hand again. Slowly the older of the two stepped forward as well, reaching out and gently taking Alma's hand into his own.

As the trio was reuniting, Riley stood over Harlan Wade. Her eyes, slitted and blood-red, and her face revealed to the man so that he could actually look into her eyes.

"Do you know who I am?" Riley demanded, her voice carrying out without her lips moving.

"I've seen you before. In drawings..." Harlan muttered, obviously terrified of what he was seeing.

"You tortured my daughter… You… Hurt… Her…! Now… you'll feel everything she felt… and so much worse!" Riley snarled as she shot forward, tearing into the man, filling the hallway with his screams.

Off to the side, neither boy heard a thing. To their minds, they were standing on a hilltop, holding hands with Alma on a quiet sunny day. For them, all was right with the world. They were together at last, a family.

**-To Be Continued-**

_**Alright there you go. Hope you enjoyed the start up of that chapter, more to come as Riley targets the Armacham corporation next and takes it down as an added bonus. We learn a bit more about the end of ages, and of the ancient past, and we got to see some of the DC heroes starting to make appearances. You all should recognize Green Lantern, or more specifically John Stewart, but I also referenced the younger forms of Superman and the Flash. This is still before they put on the costume, so to speak, but they are doing the hero thing, just a bit more from the shadows. Seeing as how this was seen on national TV, it's not a surprise they'd know about it. Hope everyone enjoys, and looks forward to the next chapter. See ya!**_


	8. 8: You are my Family

_**K here's the next chapter hope every enjoys**_

_**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**_

Chapter 8: You are my Family

**-Fairport USA. November 5th 1998-**

"Hurry! Hurry!" An Armacham security officer shouted over his shoulder to the collection of scientists and researchers, engineers and technicians all busily downloading data or extracting hard drives as Armacham HQ was quickly being cleared out.

News had already reached them that the Origin facility had been at the epicenter of the terrible disaster that was now tearing Fairport to shreds, and now, just moments ago, more information had arrived letting the higher ups know that now the Ward facility had also vanished in a massive ball of fire.

Harlan Wade was presumed to be dead, and a massive containment breach had occurred. Whatever was residing within the Origin facility had escaped and it was believed to be the cause of this disaster.

"Three minutes. You have three minutes to finish what you're doing and then we clear out. If you do not hurry you will be left behind." The Head of the security force shouted over the chaos.

At that exact moment, his radio chimed and he stepped away from the bustling eggheads to answer the call.

"Yes?" He inquired over his headset.

"What's the status on the evacuation? The storm is getting worse. At this rate all of Fairport will be consumed within the hour." Came an inquiry from one of his subordinates. The rush of wing tore across the comm, signaling to the security chief that this question was being asked from somewhere outside of the building.

"We'll be moving out here momentarily. Are the execs evacuated yet?" The Chief asked.

"Yes. Helicopter is touching down now. We're pulling out." Came the reply.

"Alright, we'll be right behind you." The Security Chief stated.

"Good to he-, What the Fuck! AHHHH!" Static suddenly cut off the radio, earning surprise from the Security Chief.

"Hey! Hello! Someone fucking answer! Rooftop! Come in Rooftop! Fuck!" The Security Chief snapped, turning to everyone else and quickly shouting to earn their attention, "Alright, trucks are leaving, lets go!"

Outside the building waited a line of trucks, that the Armacham researchers would use to get out of the city with their works. All they needed to do was make it out the front door. There would be a team of security officers waiting there for them, everything should be secure and there shouldn't be any issues in evacuating.

Even with those assurances, for some reason, no one could shake the feeling of utter dread that filled their hearts. It was like a feeling of utter hopelessness had overcome them. This went beyond the disaster outside, something else was going on, something far worse.

Quickly the group made their way to the stairs and filed down them and out into the main lobby of Armacham HQ. What should have been a steady train leading out the front door, quickly became a chaotic mass as the front runners came to a sudden halt in the middle of the lobby, causing all those in the back to run into them.

"What's going on!? What's the hold up!?" The security chief demanded as he pushed through the mass and up to the front.

One of his officers wordlessly pointed forwards towards the main doors. The entrance-way into Armacham HQ was three sets of double doors, that led to a second set of three doors that entered into the lobby.

Despite the darkness from the storm, the outside should have still been lit by the generator-run perimeter lights that surrounded the building. No light could be seen out the outer doorway though.

The occasional flash of lightning that illuminated the front entrance revealed that something was very wrong.

The bottom half of the outdoors looked to be covered in something. A dark substances that obscured what little light came from outside. Whenever lightning struck, the substance stood out against the back drop, but from this distance it was hard to tell what it was. It almost looked like oil was covering the bottom of the outer doorways, the glass having been smeared in it.

Slowly the security chief and a few of his men inched forward, uncertainty and fear laced their very movements.

Another lightning flash once more illuminated the outside, and the chief could barely make out the form of one of the large trucks waiting to ferry them to safety not twenty feet from the front entrance-way.

Another lightning flash and the feeling of dread rose. Something was so wrong here, everyone could feel it.

The confused whispers that had began when the crowd of nearly a hundred came to a halt, was now turning into frightened murmurs as people began to slowly start backing away from the doors.

Yet another flash of blinding white light, as the instinctual dread held within them swelled even further and many of the security officers came to a halt.

Only the bravest continued to step forward, making it to within about ten feet of the second set of doors when a sudden realization struck the security chief and he came to a halt.

He stood silently for a moment, listening his eyes falling to the ground as he focused his ears. Another flash… and nothing.

No sound came from the lightning. Not a single noise penetrated the building from the outside.

Slowly the security chief lifted his gaze to the outer doorway, his gaze locked on the oily substance that had seemingly been used to paint the lower half of the outer doorways.

Another flash, and just barely, through the murky substance, something could be seen, piled up, just on the other side of the outer entrance way.

For just a moment, there was confusion, and then… suddenly, his stomach sank and his whole body shook with a sudden chill.

"Is that blood?" He asked aloud.

No one said anything, but the answer was clear. The few men that had made it as far as him, were now backing away from the entrance. The sounds of their boots was the only noise.

Another flash of light, and this time movement could be seen over the trucks outside. Another flash, it looked like birds.

As soon as that thought entered into his mind, a noise started to penetrate the air. It almost sounded like the cawing of crows.

One final flash of lightning, illuminated a shadowy figure standing just outside of the entrance way.

A curse tore up from the security chief's throat as he stumbled backwards.

Glowing red eyes, peered through the entrance-way, staring right into his soul.

Just as the security chief was able to steady himself and start to draw his sidearm, the glass of both sets of doorways suddenly shattered and shot forward with such speed, it was as if a bomb had gone off on the opposite side of the entrance from them.

Screams tore out through the crowd as glass peppered the people within, piercing and shredding at unprotected flesh.

The security chief went down to his knees with a curse of pain. The sight on his left side had suddenly disappeared, coinciding with a sudden piercing pain in his eyes socket.

With his remaining good eye his glanced down at his body, blood pouring from numerous impact wound. Razor sharp sharps of glass stuck out of his arms and legs, hit chest was relatively safe due to the vest he wore beneath his shirt.

As he glanced down, pain shot through his throat, and warm fluid began to leak down his neck and onto his chest.

He couldn't see it, but glass must have cut into his throat as well.

Screams filled the air and for the life of him, the man couldn't determine if they were coming from behind him, or coming from his own throat.

That same cawing noise filled the air again, building in intensity. Slowly he raised his gaze once more, finding the same shadowy figure standing where it had been mere moments earlier.

Without pretense, a mass of blackness shot forward, as the cawing and crowing noise became deafening.

Before he could even let out a scream of terror, or even raise his arms to shield himself from the wall of death rushing forward, his sight was cut off by something ramming into his face.

Pain screamed through his body as he felt teeth tearing into the watery flesh of his eyes socket.

Desperately he started to claw at his face, tearing at the monster that was eating him.

Pain filled his every limb as more beasts latched onto his body, tearing into his clothes and then his flesh with impossible speed.

He felt unbearable pain sheer through his gut as one of the creatures tore open his stomachs and drove it's head within, chomping at his intestines with devilish ferocity.

The noise in the air, the screaming and the cawing, it was so bestial and hungry. Monstrous and dreadful.

In his final moment alive, the screaming security chief felt one of the beasts bite off two of his fingers in a single snap of it's small mouth. His last thought as the creature that was attacking his face, finally pierced through the ocular cavity and began to tear into the gray matter of his brain, was the realization that he was being eaten alive.

"**Hehehehe… yes..."** The Darkness hissed with glee at the sight of the bloodshed.

Standing over the Armacham Security Chief, was Riley, her eyes alight with damnable rage. She stared down at him, his body on it's knees being torn to shreds by a small horde of Kryll. Slowly she lifted her gaze to the rest of the room. Blood sprayed across everything, even up to the ceiling twenty feet above.

Kryll swarmed the Armacham employees, ripping them to pieces in a matter of moments. Bodies were shredded and devoured, blood, tissue, bones, and organs. All within moments.

The Kryll were so ravenous in their assault that the bodies quickly disappeared into a pond of featureless clothes and gore. Piles of organs, bones, and flesh covered the lobby floor, and the murder quickly settled onto the ground, slinking through the gore, feasting to their little hearts content.

With a wave of her hand, Riley slowly drew in all of their souls, passing them into herself, learning all that they had to teach her.

With her daughter and grandchildren safely tucked away in **Kamui** Riley was now at war with Armacham. At this very moment, clones were striking at every facility, every outpost, every warehouse, ever nook and cranny that they kept their dirty little secrets in, Riley was there raising hell, killing everyone involved.

She intended to dismantle the whole fucking corporation and steal everything of value that it had. Every note on secret projects, every piece of equipment worth millions, every idea, that could revolutionize the world, she took it all.

Riley no longer cared about the city or the people. So long as they stayed out of her way, she'd ignore them, only Armacham was in her sights now though.

Slowly she picked her way through the gore, collecting documents, hard drives, laptops, anything and everything these people were trying to smuggle out of the city.

While she did so, she searched through their memories, any equipment, or vital piece of tech, still housed in the building or even off sight, she sent clones to retrieve. All the spoils of war.

"**It's too bad you aren't capturing any of them. Some of these people are downright geniuses. They're expertise could be useful to the Legion's science department."** Kurama noted as Riley fished through the bag of one of technicians.

She paused for a moment, considering that. He was right of course, but she was far too pissed off to spare any of them. Even now, she had Skorge brutally torturing Harlan Wade's spirit, much like he had done with Sasori, though purely in a spiritual form as demons often did.

Harlan Wade and all of the chief scientists on the Origin Project, would suffer the same fate, and they'd stay that way for as long as Riley could keep their souls intact.

The rest of these people though… while Riley did want them to suffer, it was merely by association, not due to anything many of them had personally done to her.

For a moment she pondered that idea, when suddenly a cruel thought entered into her mind.

The idea sprung forth from the actions of her own precious child in The Darkness. The creature itself actually gave form to it's soul well. A soul well was something that higher beings possessed. Angels, Demons, Gods, and many other beings all had a soul well where souls could be stored.

For most beings, it was very much just a well of souls, often taking the shape of a swirling pool of life energy and souls. Though for some higher beings, they could actually shape their soul well, giving it form, like a sort of pocket dimension, but this dimension was inside of them. In Riley's case, her soul well was basically the same as most others, but the Darkness, had actually formed it's soul well into a new shape, turning it into a hellscape that Riley's inner mindscape and **Kamui** now reflected due to her connection to it, as well as her appreciation for the twisted, macabre vibe that it had going for it.

The Darkness's soul well was shaped into the form of a World War I battlefield, draped in earie blackness, where the only light was a dim sunset, just barely piercing through thick black clouds.

This place was a nightmarish realm where the Darkness actively tortured the souls of those it devoured. Anyone who was fully corrupted or turned to the Darkness's side was changed into a demonic servant that assisted the Darkness in torturing the rest of the souls.

In essence, it's inner soul well was an unending war that took place between uncorrupted souls, and the corrupted ones. The uncorrupted were draped in British army uniforms, while the evil ones were given standard German army outfits, both from the first World War era. Both sides fought, unable to kill each other, and unable to stop.

Nothing could die in that realm without the Darkness's say so, and thus the war never ended.

The twisted part of it all was that each trapped soul was given a Frankenstein's monster of a body, that could be damaged but the person would always stay alive. Almost all those within were now twisted, stitched together corpses, filled with pain, and infected with numerous diseases.

It was hell. Figuratively and literally.

It was this that gave Riley an idea. A twisted grin spread across her face as she continued on with her work, intent on finishing off Armacham and then unleashing some new servants upon the world.

Within ten minutes, Riley had finished her search of the building, and dispersed or collected her clones and familiars.

She stepped outside into the wailing winds of the storm, her face full obscured, save for two bright red glows that represented her eyes.

She made her way past the eviscerated corpses of the fallen and out into the parking lot.

She came to a stop right as a familiar face floated down from above, coming to a stop about a foot off the ground, hovering in place as the person in question pierced her with an emerald glare.

"I should have known I'd run into you here." The dark-skinned man with the green ring and form fitting energy suit said to her.

Riley gave him a curious look, still hidden behind her cover. She vaguely remembered the man she had only encountered once before. She had run into him shortly after collecting the Darkness and slaughtering some corrupt cops. She had allowed him to live then, simply because he was not her enemy and would fight other evil doers, keeping her family and friends a bit safer at the end of the day.

She had spotted him earlier, trying to rescue people with that strange ring of his, somehow he had noticed her attack on Armacham HQ, or perhaps his ring has some sort of sensory ability to it, she didn't know. Having dealt the killing blow to Armacham, she was done with Fairport. The city and it's remaining citizens could rot for all she cared.

"Hello again." Riley replied as she began to slowly advance towards him.

He leveled his fist at her, or more specifically he pointed his ring directly at her. She recalled how he was able to seemingly project objects from it that were made of pure energy. It was fascinating to her then, and was similarly interesting now. Though she had things to do, and didn't care to play around with this guy.

"That's all you have to say?" He demanded, his glare deepening.

"You want something more?" Riley asked as she came to a halt.

"You caused this, didn't you?" He asked, though it was obvious by the glow of his energy ring, that he already knew the answer.

"Yes, I did." Riley responded.

"Why?" He asked.

"Why? You ask that like you know me." Riley replied with a tut of laughter.

"The last time we met, you slaughtered dozens of police officers. You claimed they were corrupt. That you were doing the world a favor, that is was justice. Where's the justice in this?" He demanded, gesturing towards the tornado in the distance, that had now swelled to over three miles wide at it's base.

Riley felt her anger flare and she quickly shot forward, slamming her palm into the man's chest, sending him careening back, into a parked car which easily buckled under the force, folding around the man, his eyes wide in surprise at the speed and suddenness of her assault.

She made to march forward when green rods, looking almost like the bars of a prison cell, formed around her, turning into a cage.

She narrowed her eyes at the man in green as he pulled himself up out of the wreck, but the energy wasn't coming from his ring. Slowly she turned her gaze to the right, spotting another man, this one white, wearing the same outfit, with the same green ring floating down towards them.

It was this man that was making the cage around her.

"Hal?" The first of the two stated.

"John, sorry to just drop by like this. Got word that something was going on, on the homefront, so I came to investigate. Sorry I'm late." The new arrival stated as he lowered himself down next to his comrade.

"That's not going to work. She can phase through our constructs." John stated, as Riley did just that, walking through the green bars of the cage.

"That's gonna be a pain. Is this a friend of yours?" The now named Hal stated.

While his suit matched his comrade in color scheme and had a similar design, there were a few differences shared between the men, other then the obvious. While John was dark of skin, clean shaven, with short black hair, glowing green eyes, muscular and relatively tall, Hal was white, with brown hair, same green eyes, tall, and muscular though not as much as John was. The only major difference in their uniforms was that Hal wore a domino mask over his eyes. Or perhaps one was projected, almost like it was to hide his identity.

"No. I met her a while back. She brutally slaughtered dozens of corrupt cops outside an orphanage fire in New York City." John explained, taking up position next to his comrade.

"Sheesh. Well alright then." Hal responded.

"You asked me why I did this? Do you really want to know? Do you really care?" Riley asked, her eyes locked on John.

"Yes! I do care! You started all of this. You killed all of these people. How many thousands have died today? How many more lives have you destroyed? You once tried to justify your murders by claiming that they were corrupt, well what about these people? What did they do to you?" John demanded, leveling his ring at her, and glaring with a ferocious intensity.

Riley was silent for a moment before turning to glance at the Armacham HQ building. She then raised a hand gesturing to it.

"They… took my child… my daughter. They tortured her. Experimented on her! Impregnated her! STOLE HER BABIES! EXPERIMENTED ON THEM! AND YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY I'M SO PISSED!" Riley screamed at them. Slowly as she spoke, she closed her gesturing hand into a fist. As she did, her magics lashed out, crushing the Armacham HQ building like a paper cup.

Both men watched in stunned silence as the entire building, ten whole stories, ripped free from it's foundation and collapsed in on itself, falling in perfect line with the closing of her fist. Three seconds was all it took for the whole building to be reduced to a chunk of rubble only thirty feet across.

It hovered in the air for a moment, before falling to the ground, releasing a powerful, localized, tremor as it did.

Both men shared a glance at that, and John's glowing green eyes softened, just a bit. A part of him probably sensed the truth in her words, or could detect the fury that only a parent could unleash when their child was threatened.

"Humans did this. These people… Armacham… now they're all dead. As it should be." Riley growled, lowering her hand to her side.

"Nothing can undo what happened to them. To your child and grandchildren. But these people don't deserve to suffer for the mistakes of a few." John said to her, the way he spoke, his righteous fury momentarily forgotten. Either he really did care about her reasoning and now that he knew the truth, he perhaps, in a way, empathized with her fury, or maybe, he remembered clear as day how she casually brushed him aside during their last encounter and knew that a fight was not a good idea.

Riley didn't know which it was, and quite frankly, she didn't care at the moment. Instead she simply pierced the two with a glare.

"My child didn't deserve to suffer either. The world isn't fair. And the scales will never be balanced. There is no true justice in this world. If there was, this never would have happened. Killing these innocent people wont make it right. It doesn't even really make me feel better. All it does, is add a few more drops into the jar. Humans did this to my family. What right have they to any sort of discrimination when placed before a beast like me. Monsters don't care about innocent or guilty. When they're angry, there is only their target, and those that get in the way! All of those little people had the misfortune of waking up in my path today. But I will not lose an ounce of sleep for them, because they are nothing to me. You boys want to keep humanity safe from monsters like me? Then keep them out of my way and away from my family!" Riley snarled out, taking a step forward as both men focused their rings on her, ready to attack.

"You can see the proof in my actions. The ones responsible are dead. Now… I leave." Riley stated, and just like that, the raging winds suddenly stopped, and slowly, the massive twister in the distance began to dissipate. Riley didn't even need to move, to end it. With just a thought, all of the chaos she had caused, was finally put to rest.

"I understand that you're in pain, but we can't just let you walk away, not after all of this." Hal stated to her.

"Then I'll kill every single person that gets between us." Riley responded as she turned away from the two.

Both men tensed at that.

"Go now, heroes. Save the people, and inspire them to be good. If they're good, and they don't hurt the ones I love, then you wont have to worry about a repeat of this. You want to stop me, that's the only way. Otherwise, I'll kill you. I'll kill both of you." Riley stated over her shoulder to the two men.

"Even if you did. More would come." Hal said to her.

"Kill all they send, and they will stop coming." Riley responded, answering his challenge with an unseen, toothy grin.

In a burst of speed, she was between the two men, both turned in unison, bringing up their defenses and preparing for her assault as fast as they could manage. They were just in time to take the brunt of a scissor kick that sent the two men flying in opposite directions. Both flew away with great intensity, impacting distant buildings and punching clean through them to hit what was behind them.

With a chuckle, Riley vanished using **Apparition** to exit the city limits, and then used the **Hiraishin **to teleport home.

**-Riley's House, London, a few moments later-**

She arrived outside of her house and slowly trudged up to the doorway.

"**You know they're waiting for you right?" **Kurama inquired.

"_I don't give a fuck. They'll either understand, or they wont. This shouldn't surprise them."_ Riley responded throwing the door open and entering.

Unsurprisingly, pretty much everyone she knew was waiting inside.

All of her family, all of her children, many of her friends, her mates… pretty much everyone that she had any sort of close relationship with was inside of her fucking house.

A part of Riley wanted to be touched by the presence of so many of her loved ones. The idea of them all responding to such a traumatic moment in her life was honestly very moving. Another part of her though knew that most of them were about to lay into her for destroying an entire city, and even before the arguments began she knew she was over all of it. The final part of her, though just found it funny how so many people could be packed into her house.

In truth her home was by no means small but this was a bit absurd. People were everywhere, on the stairs, the landing, the kitchen, the hallways, the living room, she could hear voices coming out of the upstairs bedrooms and the various other rooms. It really was kinda funny.

"Master, we's have a few guests." Dobby informed her, earning a snort of amusement from Riley.

"No shit." Riley muttered.

Sitting on the stairs chatting with Theo, was Draco. He was the first to notice her enter and as soon as he spotted her, she met his gaze.

Despite wanting to, he wasn't quick to rush over to her. The red glow of her eyes, held a warning. Riley was furious. Beyond furious. She needed her mates. She needed to calm down. Her best friend knew her well enough to know, that only her mates could get her to calm down in the state she was in.

He could clearly see she was agitated, so he slowly rose to his feet and approached her. Doing his best to remain calm, despite the shit-storm that was about to erupt.

"Welcome back." Draco stated, Theo slowly approaching the two, though hanging back just enough to give them some space.

"Yeah." Riley responded.

"Long day, I'm assuming." Draco said to her.

"That hard to tell?" Riley responded with a snort.

"It was one of your kids, wasn't it?" Draco asked.

"Yeah..." Riley responded, her face darkening as she did.

"Bad?" Draco inquired, keeping all emotion out of it.

"They experimented on her. Tortured her. Impregnated her. Twice! And then left her to rot." Riley answered. Draco nodded at that, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He was furious. Furious for her, and her child. He of course knew the theory that was going around. The only reason Riley would unleash such destruction was for her family. This gave him his reason. He was more surprised that she hadn't done worse to be honest.

"I know it means close to nothing, but I am sorry. I'm sorry that it happened. I'm sorry that we couldn't have done something to stop." Draco said to her.

"That's where you're wrong though. I knew I had kids out there. I know what happens when you put demons next to humans. I know what becomes of them when the demons aren't in full control. I could have prevented some of this. I could have found her sooner… I could have done something! Gods be damned why didn't I do something!" Riley snarled as her hands curled into fists, at her last word she threw a closed hand back, slamming it into the wall behind her.

Draco remained impassive, while Theo backed away, his eyes scattering across the walls and ceiling as the runes and seals that Riley had placed to make her home indestructible, revealed themselves and nearly shattered from Riley's strength.

The seals and runes appeared all throughout the house, showing just how close Riley had come to collapsing the building and also alerting all of the inhabitants that something was wrong.

Quickly they all filed into the entrance-way, dozens of sets of eyes finding their way to the seething demoness.

"I understand." Draco stated quietly, as he stepped back, giving room for the horde of women that quickly raced past him to surround their beloved mate.

Riley was still seething as the first of her mates ran into her, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Despite not paying attention, her familiarity with them easily allowed her to place the first to touch her.

In was Luna who had her face buried in Riley's chest, her arms slid around Riley's back, holding her in the tightest embrace that she could manage.

Riley's eyes were still locked with Draco's, when she felt the tender touch of Fleur run along the arm she had used to slam the wall.

Slowly the Veela ran her hands along Riley's arms before they arrived at her curled fist. Fleur gently wrapped her hands around Riley's fist and pulled it away from the wall, holding it between her hands. Delicately, Riley's fist unclenched and Fleur slid her slid her fingers between Riley's.

On Riley's opposite side she felt someone press up against her and their arms slid around her. One around her torso, and one came up and rest on the side of her neck gently tilting her head towards them. Riley could just barely make out Katie whispering into her ear, trying to calm her down.

Her sight-line with Draco was broken when Daphne stepped between the two. Worry, fear, pain, love, desperation, desire, acceptance, all swam in Daphne's gaze as she tried desperately to allow those emotions to flow across their bond for Riley to feel them.

Just behind Daphne, stood Kaede whom watched with concern and uncertainty. Calming people when they were angry was not something she was good at, and she had to fight with herself, as her own demonic side found joy and pleasure in seeing Riley so worked up and powerful.

Behind Kaede, Gaia and Kankuro stood. Obviously the Kazekage had felt Riley's outburst and had come all the way to Britain to find out what the hell had happened to her bride-to-be, to cause such a reaction.

Slowly, Riley broke her gaze from Daphne's, but wherever she looked, she found her eyes meeting with someone she cared for.

So many of her friends, her mother, Tom, Itachi, Shisui, her grandfathers, her uncles, Sirius, Remus, Arturia, her children, finally, Riley gaze fell on Kaguya's. The only gaze not filled with concern, fear, acceptance, or any of that. No… Kaguya simply stared back with curiosity, wondering just what it was that had caused such a reaction, and withholding all judgment, good or ill, until that information was provided.

"It was one of our children." Riley stated aloud. This was what most of them had thought, the only person who didn't know was Kankuro, but he had been brought up to speed, mere moments after Gaia had been informed.

Kankuro and Temari had long been curious about Amaru and all the time she spent with Gaia whenever Riley brought her to Suna. Gaia hadn't told her siblings anything in regards to her daughter, until now that is. No real point in hiding it any longer, and she intended to tell Temari when she returned to Suna.

Riley delicately and while maintaining her bond with them, slowly freed herself from Fleur, Luna, and Katie. She pulled her hand free from Fleur's grasp, peeled Luna off of her, and freed herself from Katie's embrace, taking the opportunity to look each of them in the eyes as she did.

The pain in their eyes, and the fact that they had obviously been crying, broke Riley's heart, and she felt even lower now because of it. Still though, there was someone who would need her more then them right now. Someone who would take this news worse then most.

Riley slowly stepped past the three, passing Daphne as well, as she approached Kaede.

"I found one of our kids. Her name is Alma." Riley offered as she gently took Kaede's hands, her gaze soft, but the red in her eyes did nothing to hide her true state of mind.

Seeing just who the mother was, Draco silently cursed. He, along with Hashirama and Madara were some of the few who knew the truth about just where Riley had found Kaede. Riley's mates didn't truly know the extent of what Kaede had gone through as a child and more importantly, her teenage years as a test subject.

That had never come up, and Kaede had never told them, so as far as most people knew, Kaede was just a strange Japanese half-demon that Riley had found one day.

Draco, as Riley's best friend, had been there for her when she needed a fresh pair of ears to held her in coming up with ways to help heal Kaede's wounded heart and get her to open up more. Now, after hearing about what their child had suffered, Draco fully understood why Riley was taking this so hard. This wasn't just any child of theirs. This was Kaede's child. A child that suffered the same and worse as her mother. Honestly, what Riley did to Fairport was a kindness. She had it in her to do so much worse, and he knew that. No… what she did, that was tame.

"Why are you so angry, Riley?" Kaede asked.

"Because they hurt her." Riley answered, her eyes locked with Kaede's.

"They hurt her." Kaede parroted back.

"Just like they hurt you… and worse." Riley responded, sadness and pain, passing through her voice.

Kaede stared back for a moment, her face blank as she digested that. Slowly her gaze fell, her eyes coming to rest, somewhere just above Riley's stomach, but she wasn't really looking at anything.

"They impregnated her against her will. She has two sons. Both of whom were experimented on too." Riley added after a moment.

Silence permeated the room. The drop of a pin would have sounded like a bomb going off. Despite these things being said to Kaede, everyone in the room had heard her.

Kaede stood in silence, soaking in the words. Suddenly, her killing intent rose as her inner demon screamed in fury.

Curses tore out from those around them as Riley's tails exploded outwards, crisscrossing through the air as they wrapped around Kaede's vectors, restraining them, and keeping Kaede from harming those around her.

"Kaede!" Riley snapped, trying to break her lover out of her enraged state.

Kaede wasn't listening. Her face twisted with fury, her eyes smoldering, as more vectors manifested. For the first time in a long time, her inner voice came to life.

"_**Find them… kill them all!**" _It growled, as more vectors began to manifest.

"Kaede." Riley growled, placing her hands on Kaede's shoulders. Still, Kaede wasn't listening. She was angry. Beyond angry. One of her children. Her baby with the woman she loved, taken, tortured, abused, raped, and then the same thing happened to her grandchildren. Wretched humans. Godforsaken devils, all of them! Kaede grit her teeth in rage. She needed to kill something. Now more then ever, she needed to satiate her bloodlust. She had kept her Lucy persona at bay for so long, but her hatred for humans came screaming back with this reveal.

"Lucy!" Riley snapped, breaking Kaede free from her anger. Her eyes rising quickly to meet with Riley's.

It took a moment, but Kaede suddenly realized just what Riley had said, what she had called her. She had nearly done it. She had nearly let Lucy out, here in this room with all of Riley's friends, and family, with people that treated Kaede with kindness, people she cared for.

Sensing that Kaede was thinking clearly again, Riley wrapped her arms around her, and pulled her into an embrace.

Slowly, Kaede retracted her vectors, and settled into Riley's embrace.

"It's alright… they're all dead now." Riley stated, lifting her gaze to look into the eyes of those within the room.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean..." Kaede began, but Riley was quick to silence her with a gentle kiss to the forehead.

"It's okay. I understand. Like I said, they're all dead now." Riley stated, as she slowly turned her gaze to those surrounding her.

"I know you've all got a lot to say. I know you need your answers. I'll hear it. All of it. But before you all get to the part where you question the hell out of me over everything, there's something you all need to know first." Riley began as she slowly pulled away from Kaede and focused on all of her friends and family.

"This… is a truth that you've all known, but I don't think it ever set in for you. So allow me to take this opportunity, while I have you all hear, to clarify something… You are the people that I love. Each and every one of you. Almost every person I care for in this world, is standing before me now. You are all mine. My friends. My family. My lovers. My children. All of you are mine, and no one touches what's mine. No matter what you say. No matter what you do. No matter how hard you try to convince me otherwise. I will always be there for you. To support you when you need it. To fight for you when you need me too. And… when the pain becomes too great, I will be there to return you pain upon the world, a thousand fold. You may not approve, you may not want it… but that's how it is. I was born to a clan that was cursed to love with all of their hearts, and when that love is wounded we retaliate with a force unmatched in this world. That is a part of me that'll never change. So… never forget that, going forward. Never forget that I'll always be there for you, even if you don't want me too, even if you think what I'm doing is wrong. You're my family… my home." Riley said to them, allowing her normal confidant aloof demeanor to fall, as she showed them just a bit of her emotions. She needed them to understand that this wasn't just about it being her child, she'd have done the same for any one of them. Because it was one of her children, it was so much worse, but for any one of her friends, she'd kill for them. For any one of her family, she'd kill for them. This world meant nothing to her. They were her world, and that was all that truly mattered.

For her efforts she received several smiles, several nods, looks that spoke volumes to the demoness. She knew that many of them already knew this and recognized it as a price of being friends with her. Riley defended her friends, and she avenged their pain. That's who she was, if they suffered, then she would strike out at the source of that suffering. And her powers ensured that every time that happened, it would be no less spectacular then what was seen today.

"Alright… now… who wants to go first?" Riley asked after a moment. She was ready to face their questioning and deal with whatever fallout would come from this attack. Regardless of what it may be, Riley had acted, and now the world would respond.

**-Back in Fairport, at around the same time-**

The Shinigami hovered over the ruins of the city. Well over twenty-thousand people were dead. Around a tenth of Fairport's population.

A quiet sigh escaped the reaper's lips. He knew the time had come to approach the demoness once again. The deaths themselves were of little concern, it was those that Riley had absorbed, the souls that she had taken, that were the bigger issue. A few hundred souls, here or there, hell even all of those she'd killed was no big issue in the grand scheme of things, but the precedent that was being set…

He needed to approach the demoness and try to work out a deal with her… this had the potential to escalate into a far worse problem if he didn't get ahead of it now. It was time to approach the Archdemon, and make another deal.

_**-To Be Continued-**_

_**Alright, here's the next chapter, I hope you all can enjoy it. Next one is up immediately following.**_


	9. 9: A View of Darkness

_**Alright, here's the next chapter for you guys, hope you all can enjoy them.**_

_**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**_

Chapter 9: A View of Darkness

**-Rapture, Northern Atlantic. November 6th 1998-**

"Armacham?" Wesker mused as he ran his eyes over the stacks of files, documents, hard drives, and laptops that lay strewn about the room before him. By his side was the Birkins, along with Kabuto and Eleanor.

"Yeah. Armacham was the corporation responsible for what happened to Alma. They wanted to use her to try and breed an army of psychic commanders, that could then control an army of cloned soldiers that only responded to telepathic orders." Riley explained.

"So that's what they were after from her and her kids…" Eleanor mused as she opened a few manila folders and perused the documents within.

"Yeah. Using my child for such a thing is unacceptable. However… their research, their ideas, what they've learned so far… It could benefit us and help us elevate the Legion. Everything I've found is yours to do with as you please. I've also dropped off all of the equipment and prototypes I snagged from their research labs. Feel free to go over it if you want, and see what you can make of it. I've brought along some new research assistants to help you handle things down here. You'll find that they are quite efficient workers." Riley explained, drawing all of their attention, when she mentioned the new staff.

With a devilish smirk, Riley flashed through some handsigns and placed her palm upon the ground.

In a poof of smoke, she summoned several figures. A column of them, at least twelve in total.

Each one stood naked before them. Their figures were human, but they were missing key features. Each one had patchwork sickly flesh that covered their whole bodies. The flesh itself, obviously came from different people, all pieced together and held together by an intricate network of stitches. The stitch-work was fine, delicately done, but because of this, the differences between skin tone, and even health stood out across the body of each individual.

They lacked any of the intimate features that associated their gender. They didn't possess genitalia, nor did they have nipples. While the rounded shape of breasts, did reveal that some were female and others male, they lacked intimate details. They were completely hairless, and their bodies were heavily marred by stretch marks, making it appear that the flesh had been pulled taught over their whole bodies.

On their head, they each lacked a nose or ears, both sensory organs were simply gone. Where the eyes should have been were X shaped stitches, pulling the flesh tightly together, and held there with thick black wires. They also lacked a mouth, which rounded out the torturous and grotesque appearance of these freakish creatures.

"What are they?" Wesker was the first to inquire, not at all overly disturbed by their appearance, but very intrigued by them, none the less.

"They are homunculi that I created to serve the Legion. More specifically, the science department. Within each of these bodies, is the souls of several of the Armacham researchers and scientists. I created them to aid you in your endeavors. They are immune to physical pain, disease, and poisons. They will do whatever you tell them too and answer any questions you may have." Riley answered.

"Answer? How? They have no mouths." Annette stated as she approached the cluster, eyeing one of the front most members.

Riley offered her a devilish grin, and nodded towards them, "Ask them something."

Annette was quiet for a moment before finally deciding to humor the demoness and see what would happen. "Can you speak?"

"Yes." Came a chorus of responses. Annette's eyes widened and she took several steps back. The voices of the freaks came out like someone cupping their hands around their mouth and then whispering instead of speaking. It was a strange, uncomfortable sound, and they all seemingly answered at once.

"Each one has the memories and skills of several Armacham scientists, researchers, technicians, and the like. I've created a hundred-and-sixty in total. They'll remain down here in Rapture doing anything and everything you need them for. They can be given complex orders and will carry them out with extreme precision. They are fully aware of everything going on around them. They can see, hear, smell, and feel, just like you can. They are physically stronger then regular humans, and as I said, they are highly immune to damage, so feel free to use them as assistants and manual labor. They are yours to use as you see fit. Assign them at your own discretion." Riley stated as she removed a scroll from her pocket and tossed it over to Kabuto. Within the scroll were the remainder of the entities she now dubbed Nothings.

With her spoils now delivered, Riley left the science department to marvel over their new resources.

She quickly retreated into **Kamui** where her grandchildren were waiting for her. The two boys, Paxton, and Darren Fettel, was what the scientists had named them, and that was what they had gone by all their lives. The older one was Darren, the younger Paxton.

Darren didn't say much. He was a quiet and reserved young man, who rarely said much, but his silence hid a heightened level of understanding. Only Eleven years old, and he showed signs of incredible intelligence and perception. He was also the more athletic of the brothers, his physical abilities on par with an untrained Shinobi of that age.

Paxton on the other hand was far more vocal, and very direct. He was full of questions and even more so of opinions. While not as physical as his brother, his mental abilities were exceptional. At ten years old he already showed intense telepathic and telekinetic skill. Able to enter into the minds of others, and even move things with only a thought.

Both boys looked almost the same, despite the year difference between the two. Their hair had been buzzed down, with Paxton's being the darker of the two, nearly black, while Darren's was a bit lighter, closer to a dark brown. Both of them had piercing blue eyes, that did little to hide their intelligence, both were far beyond their age group when it came to problem solving and rationality.

The boys had yet to leave **Kamui** since Riley rescued them from the Ward facility. Alma herself still kept to the insides of Riley's mind, her only external contact was to bond with her sons, who's minds she often jumped between to interact with them. Her interactions were often little more then hovering around them, and feeling their emotions and allowing them to feel hers.

The three had been kept here due to Alma's overly paranoid nature. Riley knew she needed to work with her try and get her calm and stable enough to allow herself and the boys to venture outside of Riley's body to interact with the outside world, so far that wasn't working out to well, but it had only been a day. The only other person that the trio interacted with, other then Riley was Kaede, whom had been brought into **Kamui** so that she could see them.

Alma reacted pleasantly around her mother, but Riley sensed a deep seated agitation in both of them. Kaede wouldn't soon forget what humanity had done to one of her children, and Alma, being such a powerful empath and telepath, quickly picked up on Kaede's agitation and it's source. Alma learning that her own mother in Kaede suffered things of a very similar nature, did little to open up the psychic's mind to the possibility of reintegrating into society. So for now, the boys and Alma remained here, where Riley kept a close eye on the them, and while working with Alma and helping her recover mentally, she also began to train the boys.

Teaching them in the ways of magic, and enhancing their skills, unlike with the researchers at the Ward facility, Riley had no intention of trying to drive the boys apart, and instead did what she could to help them further bond with one another, sensing that if properly trained the two would be a near unstoppable duo one day.

**-London, England. November 10th 1998-**

Riley quietly strolled through the rather empty streets of London, quietly thinking to herself. Her appearance had been altered, hiding her unnatural features, and allowing her to blend in as simply a rather exotic looking, regular woman.

Snow was falling all around her, a gentle fall of heavy clumps, that reminded her of bits of ash. The cold and the snowfall had emptied the streets, leaving them sparsely filled with travelers and cars, Riley was currently in the midst of reflecting on the recent days events.

The fallout was finally being felt now as the world recovered from the horrors unleashed at Fairport. As of now science had no answer for what had happened, nor had there been any response from any magical community. The Statute of Secrecy had once again survived by the skin of it's teeth, but only due to the silence of those responsible for keeping it.

No one knew anything, and so long as that was the official answer from every magical organization, the statute remained secured.

Over the last few days, Riley had to deal with many in-depth conversations with her mates, grandfathers, Itachi and Shisui, her mother, her friends… pretty much all of them at one point or another over the last few days approached her to try and discuss what had happened in full and try to get a handle on the situation.

During that time, Riley was informed about the message delivered by who Madara and Hashirama both assumed was Kane. Riley viewed their memories of the broadcast and memorized the face of her so-called prophet. She was absolutely certain she had never seen him before. At the moment, she had Loki dispatched, eavesdropping on various governmental organizations, trying to determine if any of them knew anything about Kane, or where to begin looking for him.

When the opportunity presented itself, she intended to find the man and have a chat with him. She was eager to learn what their connection was, and how he knew so much about her. For now though, all she could do was wait, and while waiting, Riley spent most of the time anticipating the summons from either Lucius or the Queen. She expected one of them to demand her presence to give an explanation for this, but so far it hadn't come.

Riley suspected that the reason behind their silence was fear. Both leaders knew that despite Riley's position as a citizen of their country, she was basically a world-ending monster, and every day the world continued to spin, was quite frankly a gift.

Riley herself was uncertain how close that was to the truth, but she suspected it played a large part in it. The only repercussions Riley could face from this were from those she cared about. Nothing else affected her. No government had control over her. No nation could impose their will or laws upon her. She was a goddess. A being above all of them. That she still allowed anyone to live, was a gift, in and of itself, when she had the power to casually wipe out the entire planet.

Again, she didn't know if that was true, and quite frankly she didn't really want to know if that truly was the reasoning for their silence.

A part of her wanted the challenge, wanted them to have the balls to call her out, but another part didn't blame them for being afraid. While Riley wasn't sorry for what she did, she knew that it was far from what anyone would consider 'right' or 'just'.

Riley knew her morals were screwy, but that's how it'd always been. If left without the oversight of those who's opinions did matter to her, Riley's demonic nature took over, and suddenly, all living things became expendable, especially humans.

"**That's not masochism is it?"** Kurama inquired with a chuckle.

"_Shut it." _Riley though back in response as an un-amused look spread across her face.

"**The part of you that's still think****ing**** like a human knows th****at**** murdering all of those people that had nothing to do with Armacham was wrong, and should be reprimanded for it, but no one is doing it. Your friends and family are being understanding, because they know what your temper is like and they're just happy you didn't blow the entire world straight to hell. Anyone else that may know the truth is too scared shitless of you ****to ****call you out on it."** Kurama noted with another chuckle.

"_I don't want to be punished for anything. I know what I did wasn't the morally right thing to do, but when it comes down to it, right and wrong, never even played a part in my decision to attack the city. I was pissed, so I did it."_ Riley responded.

"**As a demon should..." **Kurama stated, when Riley took a pause.

"_Maybe I'm just so used to having to justify my responses to people, to try and convince them to understand why I did what I did, that I'm surprised I'm not getting more flak from this. I mean you remember the whole kids fiasco when it came to Naruko's baby mamas? My mates jumped down my throat about that, and I hadn't even done anything at that point in time, that was just words. How many kids do you think died in Fairport?" _Riley continued on.

"**More then a few."** Kurama answered.

"So…_ what's different now? Why am I only getting understanding from this? Am I just __putting too much thought into this? I mean the hammer should have dropped by now."_ Riley thought back.

"**Do you remember what happened when Katie's mother died? Over two million lives, Riley. You remember Naruko's rape? Over one-hundred-thousand people. Fairport? A few tens of thousands at most. Riley… this is tame. Compared to everything you've done before this, Fairport was nothing. In fact, I'd argue that you showed remarkable restraint."** Kurama said to her, causing Riley to stop in her tracks, and think back. The fox was right, this was remarkably tame compared to the other times Riley had unleashed her demonic rage upon the world.

"**I think those who care about you, remember those acts, and recognize that this was light in comparison to what you've done before. In fact, they probably are more surprised by the level of control you displayed with how angry you were. You channeled the two extremes of burning rage, and cold fury perfectly, by lashing out at the city with the tornado, while hunting down and executing Armacham yourself. Hell, you even spared those bozos in green, I'd argue you're temperament has improved vastly from those events. I think others see that too, and that, coupled with the fact that they've seen you do worse, is why they're not reacting more negatively to this."** Kurama continued on, earning a slow nod of agreement from Riley as she took in everything he said.

That honestly did make a lot of sense to her, and she hadn't though about comparing the differences between this and what she did to Konoha. Perhaps Kurama was right.

"_**To answer your earlier question, the number of children that died, was one-hundred-and-eighty-seven, between the ages of three and sixteen. Your attack did primarily occur in the industrial district."**_ Came a haunting voice, that was eerily familiar, and caused a vicious smirk to spread across Riley's face.

She turned slowly, her eyes finding the hovering form of the Shinigami, holding position a few meters away, in the middle of the street. Cars passed aimlessly through him, and people continued on with their days, not noticing the reaper.

"Shinigami." Riley stated aloud, as she started to approach him.

The Reaper held up a hand, signaling for her to stall in her advance. He then gestured to a nearby building and disappeared from his position.

Riley easily caught sight of the Shinigami reappearing on the same buildings rooftop, where he waited for her to follow.

Riley quickly and deliberately made her way across the street. The moment she was out of eyesight, she dashed up to the roof of the building.

"_**Hello, monster."**_ The Shinigami greeted her.

"You… I've been waiting for you to show your ugly mug again. I found the hole you put in my soul well." Riley stated with a snarl, allowing her demonic features to express themselves.

"_**I am aware. I know you may hold resentment towards me for that, but I wish to explain myself, and perhaps offer an arrangement that will benefit the both of us."** _The Shinigami responded, in the sad, depressing voice of his.

"Oh, I've got to hear this. Because of you, Mito was able to reanimate my enemies. People that should have remained locked away within my soul well, were instead released, and Mito brought them back! Now I have Minato Namikaze running around out there doing who the fuck knows what, and I've got to kill him again. So… let's hear your riveting explanation for why you tricked me." Riley snarled taking a step forward.

"_**I am bound by my duty to Life and Death. So long as I exist, I must fulfill that mandate to the best of my abilities. You are a monstrous beast. A creature like you should have brought an end to my duty. You should have brought this world into the dark realms, and claimed it as your personal sanctuary. But you didn't. Instead you chose to live here, leaving the souls of humanity in the cycle, and thus leaving me with a job to do. I do not apologize for installing that back door into your soul well. It is my duty to see to it that the souls of the dead relinquish their lifeforce. I cannot do that if you absorb all of them, and at the time, I had no way of knowing just how bad you would be. Now that some time has passed, I have come to the conclusion that you have no true hunger for souls in general, meaning that we may be able to reach an agreement." **_ The Grim Reaper explained to her, as Riley folded her arms across her chest, and narrowed her eyes at him.

"You want to make another deal? Why would I ever trust you again? So what if you were simply fulfilling you life's duty? That doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and let you screw me." Riley responded.

"**Hey, I know he's a traitorous bastard, but maybe hear him out, you could end up with another Artoria. I know how much you enjoy having her around." **Kurama suggested with a chuckle, earning a pause from Riley. After a moment she decided to simply continue to listen to the undead, and see what he had to offer her.

"_**I understand that. And I'm not asking you to trust me. I will be entirely up front with my reasoning's and more importantly, I am willing to explain to you more about why my duty is as important as it is. Please… if you would… follow me. There is a place I wish to show you. I swear on my unlife and magic that no harm will come to you."** _The Shinigami offered as he began waving his hand, causing a purplish mist to erupt outward, a few feet away from the reaper.

Slowly the reaper drifted into the mist, vanishing from sight.

Riley's eyes could see what the mist itself was, a portal to another place, or maybe another realm. Regardless, she could easily return here with her own space-time ninjutsu if she needed to, so with her guard fully raised, and her curiosity peaked, Riley followed after the reaper.

**-The Nether-**

For a moment, Riley saw nothing but gray fog. After a few moments she found herself standing on a platform, that seemingly expanded infinitely outward in every direction. The platform itself was semi-translucent, and carved with ancient runes and symbols, Riley quickly identified them as belonging to a multitude of different cultures, from Aztec, and Celtic, to Latin and Scandinavian. There was Japanese, Chinese, Egyptian, Babylonian, Hebrew, Arabic, and even Sumerian, the runic languages of every ancient magical human culture was seemingly inscribed on the floor beneath her feet. Many of the symbols Riley couldn't place, the peoples they had belonged too, either too ancient, or forgotten for her or anyone else to know about.

Several meters below the platform was stony ground. A thick layer of fog, covered about two feet or so above the ground.

Beneath her, in every direction, Riley could make out ghosts. People from every walk of life, slowly moving in the same direction, heading towards something in the distance.

Slowly Riley followed their movements, which coincidentally led her towards the Shinigami that hovered not to far off.

She arrived at the reaper's side. The platform itself continued onward, but below, the stone and mist gave way to a muddy body of water that flowed in one direction, yet Riley couldn't see the other side. On the banks of the river, the ghosts gathered, en mass, as if waiting for something.

For a moment, Riley was silent as she gazed at the river, curiously wondering why it seemed familiar to her. After a few moments, an idea crawled into her mind, she then she turned her gaze towards the Shinigami.

"The River Acheron?" Riley inquired.

"_**Yes, and beyond lays Limbo. The first circle of Hell. Before us lays the entrance to Hell itself. At least one manifestation of it. While Dante got the circles right, his view of it was shaped by his own prior conceptions. Hell itself is ever changing. In those dark and twisted lands, we once punished the human souls that had refused to relinquish their life force. This is one of many places, where my kind could once banish the dead, when they refused to relinquish the life that was given to them. Though this place was a special kind of punishment, reserved for only the most stubborn."**_ The Shinigami answered.

"I see. So… if getting sent here is a special punishment, then why are there so many people?" Riley inquired, gesturing to those below.

"_**There are a lot of stubborn humans out there. But in truth, many of them seek this place out. They come here, searching for punishment for their crimes. This place was once a 'workplace' for my kind, but over the last few thousand years, it has become a sanctuary for demons and monsters. I can do nothing to stop the people that willing come here, and due to the presence of demons I would no longer send a soul here. This place was twisted because of humans. It was never a happy place, but it was meant to brake them, not torment them and turn them into monsters." **_ The Shinigami explained to her.

"Wow… So… what caused all of this exactly? How did humanity twist what was essentially a prison for breaking the dead and forcing them to relinquish their lifeforce, into literal Hell?" Riley inquired with genuine curiosity.

"_**Do you know what a Hollow is?"**_ The Reaper inquired.

"It's a type of demon. One that specifically feeds on souls. Why?" Riley answered.

"_**Hollow type demons are the true enemies of life. Your kind in general are a plague, but the true enemy of life itself, isn't just the destroyers, its the hungry beasts that feed on life's gift. You understand how it works, correct? A living, sentient being is given a seedling of lifeforce when they are born. This seedling makes up the soul of a person. From the moment of their birth, that seedling is constantly growing, their lifeforce maturing, aging, growing in density throughout their whole life. The act of living, is what feeds this seed."**_ The Shinigami started to explain, turning to face her as it did.

"And when they die, it's your job to remove their lifeforce, pass it on to death, which then feeds it back into the great entity Life. Or whatever it is that's responsible for making things alive." Riley finished for him, having learned all of this throughout her life from various sources.

"_**Yes. The job of the reaper is to separate a spirit from it's life force. What happens then is up to the reaper in question. For me, if they give me no trouble and relinquish their lifeforce willingly, then I send them to Paradise where their spirit can be happy for the time that it has left, however long that may be. If they refuse then I must break them, and tear free the living energies with force. This place was one such area where we reapers did that, at least until we started bringing humans from the various timelines here."**_ The Shinigami continued.

"Humans broke your prison. How?" Riley asked.

"_**Humanity is a very unique race. They have one of the highest concentrations of magical beings among any race that isn't purely magical. Out of almost all the races out there that aren't magical by default like Elves or goblins, humans have a higher chance to be born with magic. And even if they aren't a pure magical, and are only a squib, they still have a more powerful lifeforce then others. This makes them rather interesting when they die. This isn't solely tied to humans, as I'm sure you know that any living thing can be corrupted into a demon. Well, as I mentioned, humans are stubborn, and they are stubborn in any timeline you could visit them in. It's one of their defining characteristics. This has lead many a reaper to need to break humans in order to get their lifeforce. This is time consuming. And as I'm sure you've noticed, there are quite a lot of humans, and as a violent race, there are quite a few that have died violent deaths, and don't feel they deserve to die. This has led to a major issue with humanity. Most of the reapers who work with humans, are quite frankly… overworked. For lack of a better term." **_The Shinigami explained to her.

"I think I'm getting where you're going here. Stagnant souls have a much easier time turning into monsters, and a lot of them end up turning into Hollow type demons. That's why Hell became this. You guys brought humans down here, but there was so freaking many of them, that when they started turning into demons, they eventually chased you guys out of your own prison." Riley guessed, earning a slow nod from the reaper.

"_**Nowadays, Hell has become a literal prison, where higher beings send others to be locked away, and to suffer. The demons rule it now, and it has become a Dark Realm, that unfortunately, still caries many aspects of Death within it, and thus, many a soul are drawn here if we cannot reach them in time. The demons now fulfill our roles, breaking the souls of those who enter and feeding on them."**_ The Shinigami noted with what had to be a sigh, though given that his mouth never moved when it spoke, Riley didn't know if it actually was one or not.

"So… why did you bring me here?" Riley asked.

"_**To show you. Hell is a terrible place, but it's merely a failure of our ability to manage humanity. Over the years we've tried to do what we can to alter the way that humans think, to either diminish their stubbornness or convince them in life to accept a peaceful death. Many earthly religions were actually started by reapers from various timelines and they carried over to new worlds when enough people believed in the various entities that the power of belief caused magic to bring these false deities to life. You'll notice how a great many religions surround the concept of a peaceful life. That is by design to make humans docile so that when they die, we have an easier time reaping them, and it worked for a while. Though, as they tend to do, eventually the problem grew beyond that, and we were forced to come up with new plans. Many of the others have their own way of going about it, trying to change humanity. I gave up on changing them long ago. Instead, I chose something different. If I couldn't convince humanity to accept death, then I would need to put measures in place to ensure that when Hollows did arise, they could be swiftly dealt with. That was my answer. To fight fire, with fire, as it were."**_ The Shinigami offered to her as it slowly started to float away from their position over the riverbank and away from the swelling mass of ghosts waiting to attain entrance into the demon infested Hell.

"So how did you do that?" Riley inquired as she walked by his side.

"_**I built an army.**_" The Shinigami responded, earning a smirk from Riley.

"Well if humans are gonna be assholes about it, may as well just butcher them when they turn into demons. Fuck it. Sounds like something I would do." Riley stated with an amused chuckle.

"_**You do understand the importance of keeping the number of Hollows in the living realm, down to a manageable level?"**_ The Shinigami inquired.

Riley's response was to turn her gaze to it as they continued forward. Her gaze told him that she had an answer, but she didn't know if it was 'his' answer.

"_**There is, and always has been, a finite amount of life-force in existence. Life as we know it, started because of the entity known by you simply as Life. Before Life, there was simply beings like you. Pure magical creatures, that were, in essence, magic given will."**_ The Shinigami offered, earning a nod of understanding from Riley.

"I get it. Life gives life-force to people, and gets more life-force back when they die, that's how it grows more powerful. The more people it gives life too, the more life-force it receives. On and on it's power grows, and with more life-force, more sentient beings can 'live'. Creatures like me though. We can devour life-force. We can remove it from the cycle, causing a detriment to occur. Life gives a little, and gets a lot back, but if a demon that specifically feeds on souls, goes buck wild and starts eating everything, everywhere, Life loses out, not only on it's potential gain, but also it's initial investment. And because demons are pure magical beings, when they die, they don't rejoin this cycle. So that life-force just becomes more raw magic." Riley stated aloud.

"_**You are correct. It is that very logic that governs my actions. I must ensure that so long as a species continues to 'live' that the investment put into them, is returned. This ensures that Life grows stronger, and thus… life goes on. When a world enters the Dark Realms, all of those souls become forfeit, and with that, the reaper responsible for them, no longer has a purpose and simply ceases to be, it's job done. Because of how many Hollows-type dark creatures are born from humanity, there exists a real possibility of humans being overwhelmed by them and that faction of humanity is subsequently destroyed, their souls all devoured. I've seen it occur on other worlds. Hollow type creatures are the true enemies of life, even more so then the Dark creatures like you. Beings that exist purely to feed on souls, are the literal antithesis of life, and it is part of my mandate to destroy them, if I can." **_The Shinigami offered to her.

"So that's why you put the backdoor in my soul well? I hadn't dragged this world into the Dark Realms, but there still existed the possibility that I would feed on all the souls of the people I've killed. You had no way of knowing at the time if I was a Hollow myself. A question though… why do humans turn into Hollow type demons more then other kinds, and why have I never come across one of these hollows, if they're so prevalent here?" Riley inquired.

"_**To answer your first question, it's because of the way they wallow about after death. As I said, it takes time to get them to release their life-force, due to how stubborn so many of them are. This leads many of the dead to simply hang around with nothing more to do, other then contemplate their life, and their death. Many hold deep regrets for certain failings in their lives, or they resent the way that they died. These souls can be left in this limbo state for months before I reach them, and in that time, they start to become corrupted, drowning in the despair of their deaths or the failing in their lives. This leads to deep yearning and a desire to be fulfilled. As I'm sure you can attest, demons are creatures of desire and they yearn to fulfill their desires. These twisted human spirits wish for life to either return from the dead, or for the chance to correct mistakes. Thus… when they turn into demons, their resulting desires leave them highly specialized towards one particular target, the life, and thus soul… of other humans. They are called Hollows because they desire to fill the hollowness within themselves, with life. To answer your second question… my soldiers are good at their jobs."**_ At the end the Shinigami stopped and faced her, it's face twisting into what could only be described as a grin.

"**Interesting. So what does this have to do with us?"** Kurama inquired, silently urging Riley to ask the question aloud, even though both of them knew that the Grim Reaper could probably hear him.

"What's this have to do with me? I may understand why you did what you did, doesn't mean I'm happy about it, but I do understand. But that still leaves me with why I'm here? Do you intend to ask me to join your little faction and kill hollows for you?" Riley asked, eyeing the reaper with curiosity.

"_**No. While I wouldn't mind you slaying any Hollows you come across, that was not my intention when approaching you, nor do I believe it would be required, as creatures like yourself are often highly protective of their territory, so if any hollows did wander around long enough for you to stumble onto them, you'd kill them anyway. No… what I've brought you here for is to make another deal. I intend to make you an offer. In exchange for showing you how to make a new soul well, one that you may use to store any souls you wish to keep for yourself, and then allowing me to reinstall the back door into your primary soul well, I will offer you a weapon of limitless potential."**_ The Shinigami responded.

"**Oooh. Another Artoria. Go for it, see if you can get one with an evil sword this time." **Kurama stated, earning a snort from Riley.

"I don't need another servant. Not like Artoria. I'm glad to have her with me, but I don't need you to tear someone else out of their time of death and bring them here to serve me." Riley responded to the Shinigami.

"_**Well as it just so happens, I had no intention of this new weapon, being a person. When I say weapon, I mean something physical that you can hold in your hands. A special weapon, one that can harm, seal, disperse, or even permanently destroy souls."**_ The Shinigami explained, earning a very curious look from Riley.

"_**I understand you face a threat from a powerful Archdevil that seeks to end all life on this planet and drag it into the Dark Realms. That goes against my mandate, opening up the possibility of us working together. I cannot interfere directly, but if my assistance helps you destroy this threat and leave humanity alive so that I can continue my work, then I don't see why I shouldn't try and hedge the bets in my favor."**_ The Shinigami went on.

"_Alright… pros and con?"_ Riley thought as she retreated into her mindscape, appearing before Kurama so that she could discuss this with him and perhaps the Darkness if it had anything to add. She doubted Alma was going to offer an opinion on this, though she did sense her daughter's curiosity as she listened in.

"**Well the obvious is that we lose out on all those souls, but to be fair, we weren't really getting anything out of them to begin with, considering that hole in your soul well, was there before Konoha. Plus, you can still absorb the memories and magic of a person when you steal their soul, meaning you can learn all they can do and add any abilities that were specific to their magic, to your own. Their souls still get sent to the reaper, you still get their knowledge and magic, you don't hunger for souls, nor do you require them to grow stronger. Another plus is that he did offer to teach you how to make another soul well, that's something I don't know how to do, and I doubt anyone who isn't incredibly skilled at soul magic would know how. So that's a new power that you'll possess, plus with a new soul well, you can do exactly what he said, put all the nobodies you devour into the primary one, absorbing their magic and memories, and allowing their souls to pass onto death, and anyone who pisses you off, you can put them into the second soul well, where you can keep them. Either to fully devour, or just to torture, or do really anything you want. It screwed us over before because we didn't know about it, that left us confused when Mito brought them back, knowing that it's there and having another place to put them if we don't want to risk the possibilities or if you just want to torture them, will mean we have full control over it." **Kurama listed out for her, Riley nodding along with what he was saying. In truth, the offer was intriguing. Not only did Riley learn how to shape a new soul well, which opened the possibility of doing it for others, not just herself, but she'd gain an ally in the Grim Reaper, and a 'weapon of limitless potential' that could supposedly destroy souls. Such a thing would be invaluable in the fight against the demonic force that threatened the world in the Coming Day of Wrath.

For several long moments, Riley weighed the pros and cons, finally she retreated from her mindscape and took in the surroundings. She had continued to walk while she thought, and she found that she and the Shinigami were now standing atop a plateau, overlooking a vast city and castle.

The city's architecture was familiar to Riley, it had a distinctly Japanese feel to it, with structures and walls that seemed to have been pulled straight from the Edo period of Japan's history. The city itself stretched in all directions, disappearing from sight over the horizon. The castle nearby was large, and towered even over the massive plateau they were standing on.

"What is this place?" Riley inquired.

"_**This is where I place the spirits what have willingly given up their life-force to me. This is where they may reside, and live until their spirit fully decays into nothingness. This is the Soul Society…"**_ The Shinigami answered, it's hollow eyes drifting over the massive city below.

Riley took in a deep breath as she focused her gaze onto the large city as well. There were powerful magics here. She could feel it seeped into every stone. A smell was in the air, open souls, free for consuming. Despite not being a hollow type demon that craved souls, she couldn't deny that a place like this would be an absolute buffet for demons.

Though the city seemingly went on endlessly, extending her senses out allowed Riley to feel the literal edges of the realm they were in. The magic within the realm did not mingle with that from beyond it's borders, this place was cut off from everything outside. Meaning there was only a few ways in or out.

Despite it supposedly being a place meant to reward those who gave up their life-force willingly, Riley's empathic abilities allowed her to feel the emotions of the world itself. Despite all of the magic in the air, this place felt no different then any city on Earth. There was everything from joy and peace, to fear, anguish, and even suffering. I guess if people wanted to 'live' again, this was a good place to enjoy their second life. It seemed like it came with everything the normal world did. All of it's ups and downs, goods and bads.

"Alright… let's say I'm interested. Tell me about this weapon." Riley stated as she turned to face the Shinigami, her eyes focusing in on the ghastly entity as she did.

The Shinigami stared back for a moment before letting out a dreadful chuckle.

"_**Allow me to explain… the power of a Zanpakutō..."**_

**-Seireitei, Soul Society. November 10th 1998-**

_**-To Be Continued-**_

_**Alright, here's the next chapter for you. I hope everyone can enjoy. Now as I'm sure many of you can see where this is going, I'm gonna start a new vote, please offer up your suggestions for Riley's future Zanpakutō, I'm excited to hear your suggestions, and depending on how many I get, I might do a poll after the next chapter.**_


	10. 10: By the Sword

_**Alright here's the next chapter for you guys. Hope you enjoy yourselves and have fun while reading.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

Chapter 10: By the Sword

**-Seireitei, Soul Society. November 10th 1998-**

"_**A Zanpakutō is the weapon of the Shinigami, or more specifically, my soldiers. The idea for a Zanpakutō was developed from a Reaper's soul weapons, like my Tanto or Scythe. The basic principle is that a weapon is forged from pure soul energy that is already aligned with aspects surrounding the soul. For instance a Hollow-Type demon or a reaper like myself. Then the weapon is imprinted with the users own soul, developing it's own personality, and, in essence, becoming a living weapon."**_ The Shinigami explained as the two slowly moved through the halls of the large castle in the center of the Soul Society.

"So these weapons carry souls within them, and that would naturally make them more powerful then regular weapons. So what about them makes them possess limitless potential?" Riley inquired.

"_**The Asauchi is the basic form of a Zanpakutō. In this state the Asauchi is a blank slate. Through constant contact, training and interaction, the Asauchi will develop it's own inner soul, based off of your own. This will cause the sword in question to grow a personality and evolve into a full fledged Zanpakutō. Because of this, while Asauchi are the weakest form of the Zanpakutō, they also possess limitless potential as they can become anything." **_The Shinigami answered, earning a nod of understanding from Riley.

"Wow. Alright then. Has someone like me ever had one of these swords?" Riley asked, as the Shinigami made a motion with his hand, as they passed through a doorway, that suddenly caused it to lead them onto an open courtyard, instead of into the room that was clearly where the doorway was supposed to lead.

Riley paid the teleportation little mind, as she turned to face the Grim Reaper, eyeing him curiously as she did.

"_**No. Never before in this world's history, has a being like yourself ever wielded a weapon such as this. An Asauchi will have to be made with the capacity to withstand the pressure from your power. It will be special in it's own way, though beyond being more sturdy then a regular Asauchi, I intend to leave it as black and open to possibilities, as possible. That way it's ability to evolve into a true Zanpakutō, is left unhindered."**_ The Reaper again answered, earning a nod of understanding from Riley.

"Well, you've sparked my interest, to say the least. I think I'll accept your offer. You realize what'll happen if I cannot defeat the Archdevil that seems to be eyeing our world." Riley stated.

"_**That I do. If he is victorious, then he will drag this world into the dark realms and lay claim to all of the souls of humanity. I will cease to be, my purpose ended. My existence means little to me, but my purpose is everything. You are a monster, one that threatens life, but you have other ideas in mind for this world. Ideas that, at the very least, allow me to maintain my purpose. That makes us allies when facing this threat. I may not be able to do much, when the time comes, but perhaps this weapon will shift the tides in your favor. Or perhaps not. I cannot say for certain what will happen. But if I can prolong my existence, and continue my work, then I will do so, regardless of the allies or actions I must take. So, if you are certain, we can begin?" **_The Shinigami responded to her, earning a nod of agreement from Riley.

"I'm certain. I accept your offer, Shinigami." Riley stated to the reaper.

"_**Good. Then let us go and speak to the creator of the Zanpakutō."**_ The Shinigami responded, guiding her towards another doorway. Just like before, with a wave of his hand, they passed through and appeared in a place, that was not what was visually seen through the doorway.

"**This Soul Society must be tied into his very essence. He can seemingly bend and twist it to his will."** Kurama noted.

"_Indeed."_ Riley thought back as she trailed after the Shinigami.

The two were quick to approach a large palace and enter into it. Riley was led quietly through the sparsly populated building, until she was led into a chamber that housed a single individual sitting and quietly drinking something. He appeared to be thinking about something.

The man was rather interesting looking. He was a dark-skinned man with thick black hair, that was shaven on the sides and dyed green.

"_**I had hoped to find you before you set up one of your elaborate entrances."**_ The Shinigami noted as they approached the man. Comically, the man stiffened, slowly turning his gaze towards the Shinigami.

He offered a wide grin to the Grim Reaper, that Riley couldn't quite tell if it reached his eyes or not. He wore thick, gold trimmed glassed with blue lenses that hid his eyes.

"Yo. Been a long time since I've seen you here in person, boss. I thought I felt something off about today, like a weight in the air. You were lookin' for me? What can the great Ōetsu Nimaiya do for you?" He asked, as he offered a respectful bow to the Shinigami.

"_**I have need of your sword-crafting skills. I require an Asauchi specially crafted for this one." **_The Shinigami responded gesturing to Riley. "**_No regular Asauchi will do, the sheer weight of her soul will snap those blades meant for the Shinigami below. She requires one specially tailored to withstand the sheer magnitude of her Soul Pressure. Beyond durability though, I have no further requirements, the blade must simply be able to survive long enough to develop into it's true state. Do please see it done."_**

The sword-smith turned his gaze to Riley as the Shinigami spoke. Despite not being able to actually see his eyes through the glasses, Riley could tell he was sizing her up. She stared back, cool and aloof as normal. Her **Rinne-Sharingan**, while relatively dull due to her passive state, still held a godlike intensity that was unmatched, even by the Shinigami itself.

"This one seems strong enough, without a blade." Ōetsu Nimaiya responded after a moment.

"_**She is most definitely powerful, but this isn't about increasing her powers, not entirely. She is an ally, and may serve an instrumental role in the continuation of our 'way of life' as it were. To ensure her success, offering her the instrument of the Shinigami, seems like the only intelligent decision. She isn't human, as I'm sure you have surmised, nor is she dead. The blade you craft will not remain an Asauchi for long. Her magic and soul are powerful enough to generate intelligent beings quite rapidly. With that in mind though, I already know that any regular Asauchi will shatter the moment she tries to pass her energy through it. So as a preemptive action, I have approached you to forge her a blade that can withstand her raw power, and thus save us from having to ruin so many of your other creations, just trying to find one that can withstand her power. Once more I ask that you see this done, as I said, nothing more then durability is needed, in differentiating this Asauchi to all the rest. Ensure that it will survive, and we will then allow things to proceed naturally."**_ The Shinigami explained to the sword-smith.

"I see. Well… if you came all this way to ask in person, I'd hate to disappoint. You want me to put on a show and make something that can handle this one? Then first I need to know what I'm dealing with." Ōetsu responded, taking his gaze off of Riley to the Shinigami, and then back again.

"_**Very well then. If you wouldn't mind?"**_ The Shinigami turned it's gaze towards Riley, earning a curious look from the demoness.

"What do you need from me?" Riley inquired.

"Give me a taste of what you've got. I've gotta know exactly what I'm dealing with so that when I get to work, I don't go overboard, but I also don't wanna go to light, you feel me?" Ōetsu responded.

"_**I don't think you'll have to worry about going overboard."**_ The Shinigami noted as it drifted back several feet, earning a snort of amusement from Riley.

"Alright then, I'll try not to break anything." Riley stated as she took in a breath and then smirked.

Power tore out from Riley's body, the ground shook and if possible, the Shinigami grimaced and floated even further back.

The master Sword-smith was knocked back by the sheer weight of the power he was experiencing. The ground beneath Riley's feet suddenly buckled, collapsing downward, creating a small crater beneath her feet.

Riley simply hovered in place over the slowly expanding crater, her arms folded over her chest, her hair rapidly whipping around, and her eyes glowing brightly with excitement as she slowly increased the power she was unleashing.

After a few more seconds, Riley finally let loose and really flexed her power, releasing a shockwave of energy that tore out from her body in every direction. Ōetsu Nimaiya was quick to turn and run away from her, making it to the other side of the room, where he dove behind a column and braced as the shockwave tore past him, shaking the building itself.

"_**I believe enough has been seen..."**_ The Shinigami muttered, causing Riley to reign in her power and let out a laugh.

"Too much?" Riley inquired.

"Holy shit!" The sword-crafting Shinigami stated as he walked back over to them. He eyed Riley up and down for several moments before turning to the Shinigami. "And you're sure about this?"

"_**You've had a taste of her Soul Pressure, and as you can see, she seems very relaxed. I think you understand now what no regular Asauchi will do. This one needs to be stronger. Strong enough to survive long enough to evolve. Her control is a welcome bonus, but I have strong doubts that anything less then a personal construction will survive. So… can it be done?"**_ The Shinigami asked in response.

"Well… we're going to find out. I've never run away from a challenge before, and I can't be the number one Zanpakutō craftsmen if I turn down a challenge simply because it's hard. You can count on me Lord Shinigami! The Great Ōetsu Nimaiya will craft you exactly what you're looking for!" The sword-smith stated with an enthusiastic salute, and a toothy grin.

"_**Good. We shall return upon it's completion. I leave this task in your most capable hands." **_The Shinigami said, as it turned, motioning for Riley to follow after it.

"Later." Riley offered a smirk and a halfhearted wave as she followed after the Shinigami. The two passed out the door they entered through, and once more teleported to another part of the Soul Society.

"You're not one for taking your time, are you?" Riley noted as they entered into a large open room with dozens of flowing waterfalls that fed into it, leaving the floor covered in about an inch of water, that drained off through gratings in the center of the room.

These gratings surrounded a central platform that rose up about two inches over the water. The Shinigami quickly floated over to the platform, Riley following close behind.

Once upon the platform the Shinigami turned to face her.

"_**The Soul Society is massive, and we haven't much time. Nimaiya is the best at what he does, and I'd rather not have you here longer then necessary, your dark powers will be hard enough to cleanse from this place as is, **__**but the longer you're here the greater the risk is to my own soul well." **_The Shinigami explained to her.

"So that's what the Soul Society is? This place we're in, is the physical manifestation of your soul well. Huh..." Riley noted as she glanced around the white marble, stone room.

"_**You are correct in your assumption. This realm, in an of itself, is made up of my soul well. It is bound to a physical plane by my physical body, which remains here, and acts as a sort of lynch-pin, holding everything together. Your dark powers are dangerous to have here, but it's also the best place for me to train you in the art of crafting a new soul well. So… while we wait for your sword to be crafted, shall we begin?" **_The Shinigami inquired, earning a nod of understanding and agreement from Riley.

"_Well, if I'm gonna spend some time here, might as well let the ladies know." _Riley thought to herself, sending a message to her mates via the Gravemind Link, letting them know she may be gone for a while, doing some impromptu training.

Once that was done, Riley dropped down to a sitting position and allowed herself to relax as the Shinigami began his explanation. Riley listened with great curiosity as the Shinigami explained to her the fundamentals of forming a Soul Well and how to tie it into her own soul.

The explanation, seemingly took hours, but eventually the Shinigami had finished walking her through the steps of generating a new soul well alongside her current one.

Once that was accomplished, she began the arduous task of generating a new soul well. Most of this time was actually spent within Riley's mindscape as she tried and failed to shape the living vessel for souls that was naturally granted to all higher beings such as herself.

As with most things, Riley didn't allow failure to deter her. This was a new area of magic, and expanding her understanding of special soul magics, would elevate her overall abilities, even if the art wasn't an offensive ability, simply knowing how to do it, could prove quite valuable in the coming days. It was one of those things that you never knew you'd need until you did, so Riley persisted despite numerous failures.

Eventually she was successful in the generation of a new soul well. Within her mindscape, it took the form of a red, blue, and black sphere of energy. It started out small, barely bigger then a soccer ball.

The Shinigami informed her that she was successful and that it was supposed to be that way since it was empty. Her normal soul well was massive because it housed her own soul as well.

Upon it's creation, Riley allowed the Shinigami to place a backdoor into this new soul well, leaving her original one alone. In this new soul well, Riley would place all the souls she cared nothing for. The nobodies that dies in the crossfire and the faceless people that went down trying and failing to fight her. She held little malice for those people, so she'd pass them into this secondary soul well, allowing their lifeforce and actual souls to pass onto death, while she'd still gain their knowledge and magic.

"_**You have accomplished the construction of a new soul well. Well done. It is time for us to return to Nimaiya. I believe he has finished his task."**_ The Shinigami stated as they exited Riley's mindscape.

"Hey uh… how long have we been here?" Riley inquired as they headed towards the exit.

"_**A while." **_The Shinigami answered, almost sounding amused.

"**Oh that's not good."** Kurama muttered as Riley's stomach sank.

"_What the fuck does he mean by 'a while'?"_ Riley thought to herself as she mentally reached out to her mates, only to find that she wasn't able to reach them. Her eyes widened at the implication. She could still feel them, but here within the Shinigami's own soul well, her connection to them was weakened enough that she couldn't communicate with them any longer.

"**Yep… you're fucked."** Kurama noted.

"_Son of a bitch…"_ Riley thought to herself as she suddenly adopted a frown.

"_**Problem?"**_ The Shinigami inquired.

"Let's just get this damn sword before I strangle you with your own living body." Riley muttered, knowing full well the asshole knew the source of her displeasure.

"_**Just so you're aware, it's only been about a week. No need to lose your mind or anything."**_ The Shinigami informed her with a chuckle.

"No fuckin' windows in that room, and I can't tell time in my mindscape. Damn fuckin' time fuckery!" Riley muttered to herself as they teleported into a large entrance hallway.

A few seconds after their arrival, two large doors leading into the room from the opposite side, burst open, the loud banging of heavy drums, accompanying Ōetsu Nimaiya, as he entered into the room. He approached the two, stopping a few meters in front of them before dropping to a knee, extending his arms outward, palms facing the ceiling as he bowed to the Shinigami.

"_Where are the drums coming from?"_ Riley muttered as she heard the Shinigami let out a sigh.

"_**I had hoped to arrive back before he had the chance to set up one of his famous entrances, but it seems we just barely missed our chance. Regardless..."**_ The Shinigami muttered before floating forward, addressing his servant "**_Have you done as I've asked?"_**

"As if I would ever disappoint! The number one Zanpakutō Sword-smith, does not fail! Ask and you shall receive. Behold!" Ōetsu Nimaiya answered as he withdrew a katana from his waistband and offered it up, resting it upon his hands, and presented to Riley like an offering.

The Shinigami floated off to the side and gestured for her to take the offering. Riley stepped forward, analyzing the exterior of the blade as she did. Her eyes could immediately tell that this was not an ordinary sword. There was power within it. Unnatural, deathly power.

Riley delicately took the blade in her hand, feeling it's weight, while within it's scabbard. The scabbard itself was a plain black with no distinguishing traits about it.

The hilt of the blade was covered in alternating black and red handle-wrap, that formed the typical diamond pattern seen on many katana. The cap at the end of the hilt stood out a bit as it appear to be made of a darkened metal, that gleamed like polished gold, and yet was smoky in appearance. The crossguard of the sword was much the same. It was round, and on either side, facing the blade, were the images of the sun and moon, which were reversed and reflected on the opposite side, facing the handle.

The blade was of glimmering steel, and in an of itself, just over thirty-four inches in length. It was a bit longer then Kushina's twin katanas, but that suited Riley just fine, she was taller then her mother and physically stronger, so a larger blade was well within her ability

Riley's eyes ran up and down the blade, memorizing it as she pondered the newest addition to her arsenal. Riley had never been one for swords, while she was talented at utilizing them, being a swordsman was never an ideological goal for her. More often then not she saw swords as simple tools, just like kunai and shuriken, meant to be used and cast aside when they we no longer of use. Swords like Gryffindor's sword were ceremonial weapons, meant to represent status, rather then as a means of combat, despite it's impressive craftsmanship. Then Riley received the Sword of Kusanagi from defeating Orochimaru. It did little to change her opinion of swords, though she did learn how to utilize it to the best of her abilities.

The sword never connected to her though, and it was that thought that made Riley ponder if that was the true reason for her rather aloof disregard for most swords? She had to wonder, as while most weapons she utilized were treated as simple tools, there were three that she held onto, and held a personal connection with. One was her wand/staff, for obvious reasons. The second was Madara's Gunbai Fan. And the third was her hand Scythe. The latter two she had received from Madara, and she treasured them, as valuable possessions. Perhaps the true reason why she never felt anything towards the blade was due to this lack of reverence for them in her early life, and later her lack of true connection with a sword.

The answer didn't immediately appear, but Riley had to wonder if this living weapon would be different. It was lifeless now, but it had the capacity to grow into something incredible, she simply needed to give it a chance.

"I thank you for your efforts, master sword-smith. I look forward to seeing just what a weapon forged by the number one, Zanpakutō creator, can really do." Riley stated as she sheathed the blade, and locked eyes with Ōetsu.

"Only time will tell what becomes of that blade. I did exactly as I was bid. The sword wont break under the weight of your soul, at least, not as easily as the others. It'll survive long enough to thrive, and become something amazing. I hope you treat this one well, as I look forward to seeing what becomes of it, out in the world." Ōetsu stated, earning a nod from Riley.

"Well… now that I have the blade, is there anything else?" Riley inquired, turning to face the Shinigami.

"_**Only a few things. The blade you carry right now is classified as an Asauchi. It does not yet have the spirit of a Zanpakutō. In order to manifest such a spirit you must carry that blade with you everywhere. Eat with it, sleep with it, bathe with it, if you feel the need. The blade will drink in your essence and develop a soul of it's own. Once that occurs, it will become a true Zanpakutō, and the blade will enter into a sealed state. Once that occurs, I bid you to open this scroll, and read it's contents. It will explain how to advance from there. Normally this process takes decades to accomplish, but as you are fully aware, you are special. I cannot say for certain when it will happen, but I do not anticipate it taking long.**_" The Shinigami explained to her, gesturing to Nimaiya to pass her a scroll, containing the relative information she'd need for later.

"Alright then. I'll keep that in mind. I've been away from home for too long as is, and I know my friends and family will be worried about me. So… I believe it's time a I depart. Master sword-smith, I look forward to our next meeting. Shinigami, I hope to never see you again." Riley offered her farewells earning a dry chuckle from the Shinigami as it waved it's hand, banishing Riley from sight, sending her back to the place they had originally met in London.

"You sure it was a good idea, giving her that weapon?" Ōetsu inquired.

"_**A good idea? No. empowering beasts like her is never a good idea. But this is about our survival at the end of the day. We need her to win the coming war, otherwise our purpose will end. I don't like our chances, so by providing her this weapon, we tip the odds a bit more in our favor. Beyond that, we simply need to stay out of her way, and with any amount of luck, that will free us from the threat of her wrath."**_ The Shinigami responded, earning a nod from the Master Sword-Smith, and one of the chief bodyguards of the Grim Reaper himself.

"I guess we'll see then." The Sword-smith responded, and just like that, with a blink of the eye, the Shinigami was gone from sight. With a sigh, the man turned and headed back into his home, there were many other things he could be dwelling on, for now, he'd simply try and forget about the monstrous being that had just left his home.

-**Riley's House, London. November 17th 1998-**

"_Home sweet home." _Riley thought to herself as she made her way up the stairs of her house, and through the front door.

She passed inside and was quickly greeted by Dobby. She offered the little House-elf a smile before removing her shoes and heading into the kitchen, where the aroma of food, more specifically bacon, drew her in. She was vaguely aware of the time as she entered into the kitchen, the sun having just risen over the horizon not that long ago.

Within the kitchen, Kushina busied herself with making breakfast, with Snape at Hogwarts, Kushina spent a lot of her time at Riley's house or at the hidden village. Riley didn't mind, she loved spending time with her mother, and having her around more often, was more then welcome.

"Smells delicious." Riley noted, earning a startled jump from the redhead who quickly spun around, catching sight of Riley, and adopting a wide grin.

"Riley! Welcome home!" Kushina greeted her, quickly crossing the room, to hung her wayward daughter.

"Sorry I was gone for so long, I didn't think that training would take so long." Riley stated as she returned her mother's hug.

"Your girlfriends mentioned that. They said they heard a message from you about a week ago saying you had to go do some training, and then they got nothing more. We were starting to get worried about you." Kushina explained.

"Yeah. Again, sorry. The Shinigami approached me. Wanted to make another deal. I got a sword out of it." Riley lifted her new blade to show to her mother, earning a curious gaze from the Uzumaki Swordmaster.

"Really?" Kushina responded, eyeing the sheathed blade.

"Apparently, this sword will draw upon my essence and develop a soul of it's own. It'll become a living weapon, one that can destroy the undead, and kill things that aren't alive. Like demons for instance." Riley stated, earning a nod from her mother.

It didn't take much thought to figure out why Riley would be interested in such a weapon. Anything to hedge the bets further in their favor when the Day of Wrath came.

"So… looks like I'm gonna need to work on refining my sword skills." Riley noted after a moment of thought, placing the sword back at her side.

She used one of her tails to hold it in place, as if it were attached to her belt.

"Well, any help you need, you know I'm there for you." Kushina responded with a smile.

"Thank you mother. I think I'll take you up on that offer when time permits. For now though, I think I have some worried ladies to apologize to. Wish me luck." Riley said to her mother, turning and heading for the stares, sensing her mates, sans Gaia, sleeping in there room above.

Kushina smiled after her daughter, offering her a silent 'good luck' as she departed.

Several hours later Riley found herself tracking down her previous 'gift' from the Shinigami. Her mates hadn't exactly been to happy with her, for being gone for a week, but they did end up accepting her apology and explanation for getting caught up in training with the literal Grim Reaper.

Riley had then taken the opportunity to gather Hashirama, Tobirama, Madara, Izuna, Kaguya, Itachi, and Shisui to discuss the new things she had learned from the Shinigami, and the deal she had made for her own Zanpakutō. They all seemed genuinely interested in the idea of the Soul Society and the Shinigami's army of soldiers that were actively aiding it in passing souls on to the next life and dealing with the rampant issue of Hallow-Type demons.

With a promise to keep them up to date on when or if anything happened with her sword, Riley then ventured out to Suna to find Gaia and explain what had happened to her and bring her up to speed. With that done, Riley was now on her way to find Arturia.

Kushina and Artoria had been two of Riley's primary sword-fighting instructors, ever since she had gained the Sword of Kusanagi. Now though, with an actual sword to call her own, Riley had a vast collection of possible teachers to aid her in expanding and developing her own personal sword style. Of those included Kushina, Shisui, Izuna, Tobirama, Hashirama, Itachi, Kakashi, and basically any and all of her Shinobi friends that knew how to use a sword. Hell even Katie had taken to learning how to wield swords in battle, on top of firearms. In fact her style was following in line with Kushina's twin sword style though it was being adapted to suit twin short swords, instead of Kushina's duel katana.

No matter who Riley went to, in regards to developing her sword style, she did intend to drag Artoria along for the ride. She saw this as a great opportunity for her and the ancient King to spend some more time together, bonding, and developing their relationship.

Artoria was currently in a meeting with the round table, Riley kept out of sight, sitting on the roof of the building, using her **Byakugan **to admire the ancient king while she waited for their meeting to finish.

Despite what was probably a mind-numbingly, boring endeavor, Artoria maintained an air of professionalism, confidence, and focus on the meeting. The room held magical runes to keep people from eavesdropping, but with her **Byakugan **Riley could tell what they were saying by reading their lips. Just from what Riley could gather, this seemed like a budgetary meeting of some sort.

Riley smirked at that and laid back, gazing up at the sky, her mind drifted towards her new sword and she spent the next two hours pondering just what kind of weapon it would evolve into once it developed a soul.

It was mid-afternoon when Artoria's meeting finally ended, and it was as she was leaving that Riley appeared next to her beloved girlfriend, offering her greeting.

"I see you've finally returned." Artoria noted as Riley seemingly appeared from thin air by her side.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Lost track of time while training with the Shinigami." Riley responded, causing Artoria to stop and stare at Riley with obvious curiosity. While she had heard from Riley's other mates that Riley had departed for training of some sort, no one knew much more then that.

Riley offered her mate a smile and placed a hand on her shoulder. Using the **Hiraishin,** Riley quickly brought the two of them back to Riley's house, landing them just outside of Artoria's room.

Artoria quickly entered motioning for Riley to follow after her, and once she did Artoria closed the door behind her and stepped into the center of the room before turning to face Riley.

"You were with the Shinigami all this time?" Artoria asked, earning a nod, she continued, "What did he want?"

"He wanted to make me a new deal. He offered me the chance at my own living weapon, that can smite souls and kill demons, and all I had to do was offer to let him keep reaping the souls of the people I kill. Seemed like a good deal, so I accepted." Riley simplified everything, earning a strange look from Artoria, and a slow nod, that showed that something was troubling the ancient knight.

"What's wrong?" Riley inquired, sensing Artoria's growing uncertainty and anxiety in regards to something.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong." Artoria responded, but the look on Riley's face showed that she didn't believe her.

"If nothing is wrong, then why are you so flustered?" Riley asked folding her arms over her chest and tilting her head to emphasize the question.

"I just wish to be certain that you are alright. The Shinigami is a deceptive wretch and should not be trusted." Artoria stated, her eyes darkening as she spoke of the Grim Reaper.

"He's a dick, I know, but what's got you all worked up?" Riley asked, easily picking up on the fact that something was bothering Artoria.

"I just… it's nothing." Artoria responded, averting her eyes as she moved to sit on her bed.

Riley waited for several long moments before she approached Artoria, sitting next to her, and eyeing her curiously.

"You're not a very good liar, you know that right?" Riley stated, earning a slow blink from Artoria.

"We're a couple Artoria. You and me, we're together in this. If something is bothering, you know you can talk to me about it. So what's up? I know the Shinigami was responsible for bringing you here, and I know he's got you all tied up in that thing you have to do for me to get what you want, but is there something more you haven't told me?" Riley asked, reaching out and placing her hand on Artoria's shoulder as she did, earning a quiet sigh from the ancient king, as she slowly lifted her gaze to meet with Riley's once more.

"I… I think I figured out what he wanted from me. I think I know what I'm supposed to do for you to get what I wanted." Artoria stated after a few more quiet moments.

"Really? What is it?" Riley asked, taking a mental note that Artoria said 'wanted' instead of want.

"I can't be certain, but I think I've already done it and… if I'm right, then… well… It's not something that sits right with me. In fact, it upsets me, just thinking about it." Artoria admitted as she rose to her feet and began to pace in front of Riley.

Riley watched her carefully for several long moments, wondering just what it was that could be so bad that it would make Artoria feel so agitated and conflicted.

"Well… try and tell me what you wanted from me. If you can, then you'll know you've accomplished his task." Riley offered, causing Artoria to stop and turn towards her, her eyes a bit wider then normal as she processed the possibility. After a few quiet moments of pondering, Artoria composed herself and stepped forward, placing herself before Riley.

"I was a king who did not understand her people. I did everything as a king should. I was fair, and honest. Noble and direct. I did not play political games, nor did I treat my subjects as simple pieces on a board to be moved around and directed. I never thought I was a cruel king. Nor have I ever thought that I was guilty of any wrongdoings when it came to my rule. No… my issue, my fault, lay in my inability to allow emotions to dictate my decisions. My people considered me the perfect king, and therein lies the problem. They needed a strong king. They needed a good king. They needed a king who could understand their pain, and shoulder it. Someone to bare the burden of the kingdom and uplift them and encourage them to rise to new heights. I was none of those things." Artoria began explaining, garnering Riley's full attention. Riley said nothing, and allowed any and all judgment to retreat from her gaze as Artoria bared her soul. Riley could tell this a was a sensitive issue, one that had plagued Artoria for a long time, hell it was the reason she was here after all. So Riley kept her interpretations of Artoria's words to herself, and allowed the old King to speak, without being judged, to unpack her issue and unveil it, in it's entirety, before Riley offered any sort of input.

"They called me the perfect king. But behind my back, I heard their words. I heard them as they whispered about the unfeeling king. The impossibly perfect king. The godlike king, who was without fault, and without humanity. My subjects did not see me as human. I did everything I could to rule as well as I could, but in the end, the people could never truly bare such a perfect king, someone who was nothing like them. I didn't understand. Nor did I allow myself to see where I went wrong until everything had collapsed and I lay dying on the fields of Camlann." Artoria continued.

"Perfection is something we all aspire towards, but the wisest of us, knows we'll never reach it. It's an unattainable goal. But you were perfect. You were the king that was needed to save the kingdom. But your people didn't want perfect. They didn't want a machine. They wanted a man. A human being. Someone with faults, and vices. Someone who was imperfect, like them. Someone they could relate to." Riley surmised, earning a nod of agreement from Artoria.

"I had always wondered where I truly went wrong, and what I could have done differently. I didn't fully understand until I met Lord Hashirama. He and I are so much alike. Our desires, our goals, the things we stand for. I admire him. And it was from him that I learned where I truly went wrong. We were both the person that was needed for our people, but where I did everything I could to be perfect for my people, he simply did everything he could for them. It didn't matter how well he did it. It didn't matter if he always made the right decision. What truly mattered was that he always had them in mind when he went about ruling. He did what was best for them, but he also never allowed his ideals to be compromised. He argued and fought with his wife, brother, and advisers, whenever the issue of death came about, because he was not a militant man. He was kind and caring and he didn't enjoy hurting people. He was not defined by his title. People speak of the First Hokage with the utmost of reverence, not just because he was the first, but because he was such a great man, that everyone loved him, friend and foe alike. He is such a powerful person, both in pure strength, and in character. He told me something once, when I asked him how he had done it. How he had been such a good ruler. He simply shrugged and smile, and he said, 'the people of the village were parts of my body. My people believed in me, and I believed in them. That's what it means to be Hokage.'" Artoria continued on, earning a fond smile from Riley, who was in full agreement in regards to her Great-Grandfather.

If only Hashirama had been gifted with immortality like Artoria was, if only he had remained around, even if not as Hokage, if he'd been there to keep the Will of Fire burning, and encourage the villagers to trust in love, and not paranoia, maybe the Hidden Leaf village could have been something amazing. At the very least, maybe it could have been more then what it was.

"It saddens me when I look back at all the things I could have done differently. What I wanted from the Holy Grail War, what I wanted from you Riley, was the chance to go back, and put another in my place. I know in my heart of hearts, after meeting Hashirama, after meeting you, there are people out there who could have done better. People with the strength of ideals, and the power to protect the people that they love. My wish was to change the fate of my kingdom, not for myself, but for them. I became king for them, and I would gladly put someone else in that role, if it meant the kingdom would prosper and grow. It was my failings as a human being, that led me to being a terrible king. That was what I wanted from the Grail. That was what the Shinigami said that you could aid me in doing. He said that one day you'd have the power to send me back in time to change things." Artoria explained to Riley, causing Riley's eyes to widen and then narrow as she considered what she was hearing.

"**That doesn't sound right..."** Kurama noted, in regards to the offer made to Artoria.

"_Yeah, you can't change the past, everything is set in stone. That's what the older Elizabeth told me. Either she was lying, or the Shinigami was. Even if I did have the power to send people through time, I could only generate new time streams by sending them back, they wouldn't actually be changing the future, they'd just create a new timeline, and they couldn't actually live there because they didn't belong and that time's magic would try and drive them out." _Riley recapped to herself, all that she recalled about time travel.

"**Yeah. You think that's what she's so pissed about? She knows the Shinigami only fed her a half-truth?"** Kurama asked.

"_Maybe."_ Riley thought back, returning her attention to Artoria.

"I know Elizabeth has such a power, and that gave me hope that he was telling the truth. But… the more time I spent here. The more time I spent with you, and your family… the more I wanted to stay. I knew it was selfish, and I hated myself for feeling that way, but the longer I was with you, the more I wanted to stay with you. Our meeting with the Queen, didn't help matters. Her insisting that I had done well, despite my failings, it was very confusing." Artoria had continued, not noticing Riley's darkened mood, which was quickly elevated at hearing Artoria's current words.

Riley smiled fondly at that, which Artoria seemed to notice, as she averted her eyes, and her cheeks tinged red, with a shallow blush.

"The longer I was here, the more I considered that maybe this was where I was meant to be. With each passing day, with each new job… I find myself back in a position to help in deciding the fate of my people, and yet, I am not king. That burden is placed on another. I am merely a cog in the machine, as it were. In a way, my dream has come true. I am where I wanted to be. Helping my people to the best of my abilities, but not burdening them with my failings. And… more then that… I get to be with the people that I care for… with the woman I have come to love..." Artoria offered up, her words earning a gentle smile from Riley.

Hearing Artoria admit that she loved her, pushed away all of the dark feelings and thoughts, that had been brewing within the demoness. Riley didn't hesitate to reward Artoria's words with an affectionate gesture of her own. Riley rose to her feet, stepping forward and scooping Artoria into her arms, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss that held for nearly a full minute.

When they separated, Riley continued to hold her future mate aloft, one arm wrapped around her keeping her pressed to Riley, and holding her at eye level, while with her other hand, Riley reached up and gently ran her fingers along Artoria's cheek.

The stared each other in the eyes, Artoria, was blushing deeply, while Riley was smiling brightly. Riley could feel Artoria's hands on her cheeks, gently caressing her face.

"I love you too, Artoria Pendragon, and I always will. I'm happy you've decided to say here with me." Riley said to her, earning a smile and a resolute nod from Artoria.

After a few more seconds of staring into each others eyes, Riley gave her lover a peck on the lips, before lowering her to the ground.

"So… what was it that you had to do for me to tell me what you really wanted?" Riley inquired.

Her question caused Artoria's mood to sour, as she realized that she had been right. As she could now tell Riley what she wanted, that meant she had fulfilled the Shinigami's condition, and just as he had said, all it would take is to stay by Riley's side and she ended up doing it without realizing it at first.

Riley immediately picked up on Artoria's sudden mood change, and her eyes darkened in response.

"The condition he set out for me… for me to be able to tell you what I wanted… he told me it would happen without me realizing it. The condition was… in order for me to ask you to send me back in time… I first had to fall in love with you." Artoria stated.

"**Wow."** Kurama muttered.

"That DICK!" Riley snarled.

"It's alright Riley. As I said, I've decided I want to stay here. I only realized it during the Fourth Great Ninja War. This confirms it though. I suspect my willingness to offer my soul to Aleya, has angered the Death God, and that was why he did this to me. It was an upsetting slight, and I can't shake the feeling that he tricked me, but… I am happy to be here. I'm happy to be with you. So… as long as you are cautious in your dealings with him, I can be happy in knowing that I'm here, with this second chance to do better." Artoria said to her.

"Fuck, you don't know do you?" Riley asked, as she realized that Artoria hadn't once mentioned anything about the rules of Time Travel being a hindrance to her dream, despite the fact that it obviously was.

"Know what?" Artoria inquired in response.

"Time Travel, as in, changing the past, isn't possible. From how it was explained to me, the act of going back in time, doesn't actually send you into the past, what you're doing is creating another timeline, a copy of the one you came from, where the differences start with your arrival. You can't go into the past and change the future. You can alter another timeline if you want, but it isn't your time. It isn't your future, that you're changing. This is the only time we've got. If I had Elizabeth send you back in time, you'd actually show up in another timeline, and when you came 'home' it'd be here. To this timeline. Where nothing changed. From what I was told, you also cannot live in another timeline, as you don't belong there, and thus time itself will try to persuade you to leave, filling you with feelings of homesickness and or depression. The Shinigami never mentioned any of that?" Riley explained, to her, earning a dumbstruck look from Artoria which quickly morphed into depression.

"No. He never mentioned any of that. Even from the start, I was never going to get my wish." Artoria muttered in reply, looking downcast and despondent.

"**Whelp… he managed to get off of your shitlist for all of half a day, and now he's back on it."** Kurama noted, earning a nod of agreement from Riley.

"_I hope next time I see him, this Zanpakutō is fully mature and I can use it to cleave his treacherous ass in two."_ Riley growled in response.

Riley was about to try and comfort Artoria, but the old King quickly shook her head, almost as if literally shaking off her depression as she refocused on Riley.

"Regardless of his reasoning, I have made my decision. This is my home now. No point in fussing over such things." Artoria allowed herself to push away the annoyance of this reveal, and focus on what was important. This no longer hung in the air between Riley and herself. The two of them were free to move forward, and continue to build a better world for each other and those they cared for.

Artoria, more then many, had taken Riley words to heart, after she had returned from Fairport. Riley cared nothing for the world as a whole, but she loved her friends and would fight for their dreams. Meaning so long as Artoria fought for Britain, the strongest magical being on the planet, would be by her side, fighting for it as well, if for no greater reason, then to see Artoria happy at the end of the day. Maybe that was enough? Regardless… it was for the best to put the past behind them, and keep moving forward.

Riley allowed herself to calm down. There was no point in worrying about it, if she ever saw the Shinigami again, she'd punt him the from the living world, back into the Soul Society. Until then, she'd bide her time and focus on something that was more important then revenge.

"Hey Artoria? When was the last time I gave you a back massage?" Riley asked.

"I don't remember." Artoria responded after a moment of thought.

"Let's correct that, shall we." Riley offered, taking Artoria's hand and guiding her back towards the bed.

Artoria smiled to herself, as she laid down on the bed. A guilty pleasure since beginning this relationship with Riley, her massages were absolutely heavenly. Artoria tried her best not to react when she felt Riley straddle her, and begin to run her hands her back. Despite everything that had happened, Artoria was set in her decision. This was where she belonged, with Riley, building a better world, a better Britain.

A few moments of soothing pleasure passed when she heard Riley giggle to herself.

"Hey, with everything we just talked about, I almost forgot to about my original reason for telling you about all of this." Riley stated, causing Artoria to shift slightly, glancing over her shoulder at Riley.

"I got a new sword out of the deal, and I was wondering if you wanted to help me train with it?" Riley asked.

"Of course. I am free tomorrow if you would like to begin then." Artoria responded.

"It's a date then." Riley said to her, returning her full attention to working the tension out of Artoria's back and shoulders.

In response, Artoria let out a content sigh and simply allowed herself to relax. Today seemed like the day for it after all.

**-To Be Continued-**

_**Alright, there's the next chapter for you, hope you all enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy the coming chapters as well. Hopefully this marks the end of my dry spell and I can get back to regular typing, so you guys don't have to wait a month between these.**_


	11. 11: The Powers that be

_**Alright here's the next chapter for you guys. Hope you enjoy yourselves and have fun while reading.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

Chapter 11: The Powers that be

-**Riley's House, London. November 24th 1998-**

Riley stood with Darren and Paxton, before Kushina and Hashirama. Standing not far off, was Madara and Kaede.

"Boys. This is your great-grandmother, Kushina Uzumaki. Back there is your great-great-grandfather, Madara Uchiwa. And this man is your great-great-great-grandfather, Hashirama Senju. Everyone, these are Darren and Paxton Fettel." Riley introduced her grandsons to some of their family members.

It had taken some time, but Riley was finally able to keep Alma calm enough to allow the boys to exit **Kamui** and meet with their grandparents and siblings.

"Hello boys. It's very nice to meet you." Kushina greeted them, kneeling down so that she was eye level, and offering the two one of her typical Uzumaki grins.

While Paxton offered her a pleasant nod, Darren eyed her curiously and reached out touching at the long strands of red hair that fell over her shoulders.

"It must remind him of Kaede's hair." Kushina noted, still smiling.

Riley chuckled at that, sending a glance over to her mate. Kaede didn't say anything, she merely stared, her curious gaze, locked onto the boys, watching them.

"Well… why don't I treat the boys to a wonderful home cooked meal. I'm sure they're quite hungry. And after all, growing boys need to eat." Kushina stated, causing both boys to smile, eager at the prospect of food.

Riley smiled as Kushina led the group into the kitchen, and as per her desire to actually become proficient at cooking, Riley was the first to offer her assistance in making food.

From there, the family was able to sit down and enjoy a decent evening together. Riley had high hopes that it would be the first of many.

-**Kamui. November 28****th ****1998-**

Riley and her mates, including Gaia, lay upon a field, overlooking a vast ocean. Each one basking in post coital bliss. Despite the heavy cloud cover, and ominous sun set that blanketed the land in an eerie orange, none of the women felt cold, or uncomfortable, laying in the nude.

"Hey Riley?" Katie inquired.

"Hmm?" Riley turned her gaze over to Katie.

"Why were you named Riley?" Katie inquired, earning the attention of Daphne and Kaede, whom both shared a curious look with one another before listening in on the conversation.

"I'm sorry?" Riley responded.

"I mean, your family all have more foreign names. All except for Lily. I was curious why you were named Riley, did the Fourth and Lily do a sort of thing like one Elemental Nations name, and one not?" Katie elaborated, causing Riley to sit up, while Fleur let out a chuckle at her question.

Riley stared down at Katie whom stared back with honest curiosity. Riley was trying to determine if Katie was playing a trick on her or something, or if this was a genuine question. It took a few moments, but it suddenly started to dawn on her that perhaps her mates didn't actually know what her birth name was. No one in England called her Narumi, and Naruko had stopped calling her that after Riley had rescued her from the Hidden Leaf. Maybe they actually didn't know that Riley wasn't her birth name.

"What's so funny?" Katie asked, noticing Fleur's giggling.

"Her parent's did not name her Riley. Zey named her Narumi. She changed it after she left." Fleur explained, earning surprise from most of the others, sans Luna.

"How do you know that? I'm just now realizing I never told you guys that I got my name changed." Riley inquired.

"I remember Naruko calling you Narumi during ze Triwizard Tournament. I figured, given how much you disliked zem, zat you got it changed." Fleur responded.

"Well… she's right. Minato and Lily named me Narumi, but when I left the Elemental Nations, I got it changed to Riley, and I moved my old first name to my middle name." Riley offered.

"Wow. You learn something new everyday." Katie noted, earning a nod of agreement from Daphne, and Gaia.

Kaede turned her gaze over to Luna, whom was staring at the sky, seemingly oblivious to the conversation.

"Did you know this?" Kaede inquired.

"Yes." Luna answered.

"Okay." Kaede said accepting the response with little additional explanation.

Of course Luna would know. She was a seer, she tended to just know things like this. Slowly, the ladies started to rise, stretching, and fetching their clothes to get dressed.

While Riley's mates busied themselves with putting on their clothes, Riley's manifested around her body. This action earned a curious look from Katie.

"What?" Riley inquired, noticing her look.

"What's it like to do that?" Katie inquired.

"Do what?" Riley asked back.

"That. Like making clothes with just a thought, or summoning them without having to actually dress. What's it like being so strong?" Katie clarified.

"I don't really know how to answer that." Riley admitted. "I mean it almost feels like being unbound. It's kinda difficult to describe. It feels like if I just think it, I can make it happen. Like the only limitation is my ability to imagine things. I don't know, maybe it just feels like freedom. Absolute, unabashed freedom. Like nothing in the world can hold me down, or stop me if I put my mind towards it. It's honestly incredible."

Katie nodded at that, looking contemplative. Riley could sense that there was definitely something more on her lover's mind.

"Do you think we'll feel that same when you make us your paths?" Katie inquired after a few quiet thoughtful moments. This question earned the attention of all the surrounding ladies. Each one listening in, curious to hear the answer.

"Hmm… maybe. I don't really know. I don't know what will all change when I make you my paths. I know you'll gain access to one of the paths of the **Rinnegan**, and I also know we'll share our sight, and I can channel my power through you. But beyond that, I'm not entirely sure what it'll feel like, or what all will happen. The only information on the Six Paths Technique that I have is from what I learned from Madara, and what I saw from Nagato. With the former, he never actually used it, and with the latter, he only used it on dead bodies, which acted more like puppets then people. Plus this is the **Rinne Sharingan** we're talking about. Despite the similarities, it's an entirely different beast than the **Rinnegan**. Who knows what'll happen or what it'll feel like." Riley answered, offering up her honest opinion, since she couldn't accurately answer the question.

"Well… on that note, how are things going with Artoria? I've noticed the two of you spending a lot more time together, and not just for sword training." Daphne asked, earning a smile from Riley.

"Thing are going pretty good. We're still going slow, I know she's nervous and all. It's good though. Everything's going good." Riley responded.

"And what about with Yugito?" Gaia asked the follow-up.

"Eh, not much headway. She's scared shitless of me, and I kinda think it makes her nervous to be alone with only me around. She's not necessarily cold or distant, she's just guarded. I expected something like this from an older Kunuoichi." Riley answered.

"How old is Yugito, now that you mention it?" Katie asked.

"Thirty." Riley answered.

"Wow. Sans Riley, she'd be the oldest of us." Katie hummed as she finished getting dressed.

"Yeah though Artoria is a close second. I think she's twenty-six now." Riley offered up as a counter, earning a bit of surprise from Katie, whom shared a glance with Fleur, whom while less surprised, was equally curious to hear just how old the ancient king was.

"I didn't know that. She looks so young. I guess it's just because of how small she is." Gaia noted.

"Yeah. She was like fourteen or so when she was blessed with immortality, so that's why she's so short, and why she looks so young." Riley explained to them.

"Huh. So how does it feel trying to woo an older lady, Riley?" Katie asked with a giggle.

"She seems to have better luck with us younger gals." Daphne added.

"You guys do remember that I'm like a hundred-and-sixty years older then you, right?" Riley deadpanned in response.

Her reply earned her some chuckles from her mates.

"So when is your next date with Yugito?" Gaia inquired after the giggling had subsided.

"Two days from now. I'm hoping all goes well." Riley answered, earning a nod of understanding from Gaia.

"So beyond the dating and the learning to cook, have you looked into something more to fill your time with?" Gaia asked, earning a nod from Riley in response.

"Yeah, I've been busying myself looking for Kane. Guys a damn enigma, but I've seen his face. I'll find him eventually." Riley stated, knowing full well that half the world was busy looking for the guy who hacked into satellite communications and broadcast his declaration to the entire planet. Most government agencies, that the various nations had access to, were trying to find the guy. As far as they were concerned he had answers for what happened in Fairport. If they ever wanted to learn the truth, then they needed to locate him.

As far as Riley had heard though, none had been successful, though Loki did pick up an interesting tidbit from the Americans, while he was eavesdropping on a meeting with the president. Kane matched the physical features to a Soviet Era Colonel that advised the regime leaders during the cold war.

They didn't know for certain if it was him or not, and he was last seen during the mid 80s, but the face and voice did match, so they were pursuing that angle, and due to that particular tip, Riley had dispatched Loki to Russia, to see what he could dig up.

She was now playing the waiting game, to see if he would find anything or not.

"Well… I wish you luck in that endeavor." Gaia offered.

"How goes hunting down the terrorists in the Elemental Nations? Any luck there?" Katie asked Gaia.

"A bit. We're hearing whispers of unknown individuals trying to recruit new members to a fledgling organization. Right now they seem to be highly unorganized, nothing more then several violent cells. However, I have heard a few rumors that point towards verifying that these are in fact Iwa rebels, left over from the war, the ones that slipped away from the village before we captured it, and forced them to swear magical oaths of servitude." Gaia answered.

"Well, if you ever need me to clean up the place, you only ever have to ask." Riley offered, earning a grateful smile from Gaia.

"I appreciate that Riley. I hope it doesn't come to that though. Despite your hero status, the Elemental Nations is a lot less tense when you're not there." Gaia responded, earning a chuckle from Riley and her mates.

"Don't blame me for them being a bunch of chicken shits. All I ever do is offer to help and people always cower in fear. Am I really that intimidating?" Riley demanded, turning her gaze to her nearest mate, which just so happened to be Luna.

"I think you're downright lovable." Luna responded.

"Thank you. See Gaia. I don't make Luna nervous." Riley stated, causing Gaia to start smiling.

"Luna spends her time hunting for magical creatures. She's not afraid of anything." Gaia stated.

"I'm afraid of plenty. Just not Riley. Never Riley." Luna responded, as Riley pulled her into a hug and kissed the side of her head.

"Never Riley? Have you seen plenty of other Rileys from other times? Are they as intimidating as this Riley, are they as heroic?" Daphne inquired, sending a smirk towards Riley, whom chuckled at the thought.

"I've seen a lot of Rileys. They run the gambit from those that followed the Leaf's doctrine, to those who fully embraced their demonic side, and destroyed the world. Out of all of them, I like this one the best though." Luna answered, still held in Riley's arms. Her answer earned a thoughtful look from the surrounding women, many of them wondering about different Rileys and what they'd be like. Though they did all agree with Luna's sentiment, no matter what the others were like, this one was their favorite.

"Hey Luna… I've got a question. Your 'Seeing' powers activate when you dream, right? That's when you actually see other timelines?" Katie began her question, earning a nod from Luna, whom was still huddled next to Riley. "I was wondering, what kind of other times have you seen? Is it all cause and effect kinda stuff, or are a lot of them the exact same, but things just end up differently? Like did you know you were gonna end up with Riley a long time ago, or is this a rare occurrence?"

Luna looked thoughtful for a moment, almost like she was collecting her thoughts. After several quiet seconds she locked eyes with Katie. "No. I didn't think I would end up with Riley, like this. Most of the time I don't. Most of the time, I don't end up with anyone."

Luna's response caused the mood to immediately shift. Silence descended upon the open field as Riley turned her gaze down to Luna, staring at her with questioning eyes. Katie herself looked taken aback by that proclamation, and immediately regretted asking it.

"What do you mean you don't end up with anyone? Luna you're so damned lovable, anyone would be glad to have you as a girlfriend." Riley said, staring down at Luna with a piercing and troubled gaze.

Luna smiled at that, and pulled herself closer to Riley, as her eyes fell to the ground.

"The rare times I end up with someone, it's usually one of our friends, not to say that's bad or anything, that's just usually how it goes. But those are only the times when Riley either doesn't exist, or she never leaves the Elemental Nations. Even during the times she does leave, most Rileys aren't as promiscuous as ours. So I'm rarely, if ever, one of her mates. I am her friend in a lot of them, but rarely her lover. But even ending up with someone is a minority occasion. Being a seeress, and a weak person on top of that, makes me a target a lot of the time. The reason I don't ever end up with anyone, is because I'm usually dead by now." Riley's whole body tensed as those final words left Luna's mouth.

She wanted desperately to once again, lash out at the source of Luna's pain. Having to see that, and know that your chances of ending up happy are slim, at such a young age too. Riley hated the fact that Luna was a seer. She absolutely hated it.

"I'm so sorry Luna. I should never have asked." Katie stated, feeling awful for bringing this up.

"Luna, you're not a weak person. You're… well you." Daphne offered up, earning a nod of agreement from Riley and the others, all of whom looked troubled by this information.

"I'm not a weak person, because I had Riley there to help me grow strong. And I had her strength to rely on when I didn't have any to speak of. Other mes don't have that luxury. They are almost always meek, quiet, distant, troubled, and unable to fight for themselves. More often than not, I end up being used and then killed by either faction during the war between the Light and Dark, here in Britain. Most of the time, the conflict is far more brutal, and because I'm a seer, I always end up captured, and then disposed of when I'm no longer of use, or I tell them something they don't like. It's not your fault. It is what it is." Luna responded to that, turning to face Riley, her eyes meeting with Riley's as her **Rinne Sharingan** bled red.

"I hate knowing that you saw all of that growing up. I hate that I wasn't there to stop those visions. It's not right, you not ending up happy. Fate curses you to see other worlds, other yous. And if that wasn't bad enough, you have to watch most of them die at a young age. I hate that you're a seer. I know it's beneficial to us now, but I hate it. I hate that it causes you pain, and I hate that there's nothing I can do about it." Riley said to Luna, staring deep into her eyes.

Despite the anger that shined through those crimson eyes, Luna could also see the sadness that swelled within.

"Even with all that power, sometimes there's nothing you can do. But this isn't one of those times. You do more for me than you could ever imagine. I'm strong enough to fight for myself, because of you. I'm strong enough to live with the things I see, because I know you'll always be there for me." Luna offered, hugging Riley again, as Riley's gaze softened.

Ever so gently, Riley pulled Luna into a deeper embrace, kissing the top of her head, as she did. Riley was soon joined by Katie, and then Fleur, whom all enclosed the young seeress in a full hug.

From the background, Daphne and Gaia, remained thoughtful while Kaede watched the embrace play out with a curious look. She had to admire how gentle Riley could be, despite all the power she held. Kaede herself was terrified of her own abilities and worried about her strength and what could happen to her loved ones, if she accidentally unleashed her vectors on them. Riley didn't seem to have that fear, at least not enough to stop herself from holding her lovers in a tight embrace.

Kaede could only hope that one day she trusted herself to do that. The only person she felt safe enough to interact with like that was Riley, only due to the fact that Riley had shown the ability to physically restrain her vectors, if she ever needed to.

So despite her desire to engage in physical affection, Kaede held back and simply enjoyed that she was with people that seemingly cared so deeply for one another.

"_I don't know if I've ever thanked you for loving me. But I want you to know how grateful I am for it. And I know you can hear me." _Luna thought to herself, directing her message at Riley, with a happy smile spread across her face.

She felt Riley tense for a moment, before letting out a quiet sound and holding her just a bit tighter.

**-****Later-**

***Clank***

Riley smirked as the weight of Kubikiribocho descended upon her blade. She was surrounded on all sides by a thick mist, and the chakra it was infused with helped to obscure Zabuza from her sight. Despite that, the beating of his heart, gave away his location. No matter how quietly he moved, or how stealthily he conducted his movements, the drum on ones heart was near impossible to suppress during battle.

With a shove, Riley sent him back into the mist, the deadly assassin quickly using the opportunity to relocate and prepare for his next strike.

Riley was using the training to work on her defensive skills with a blade. Limiting herself to just the sword, in order to protect herself from injury. The test was simple, if she took a hit to her body, she lost. Right now, Zabuza, and Haku were moving through the mist, setting up their attacks, and waiting for the opportunity to strike out at her.

Riley held her smirk as she swiftly leaned sideways, avoiding a trio of needles that were aimed at her neck.

In retaliation Riley spun around channeling magic through her sword and slashing it upward, across the ground, in the direction the needles came from. The result was a shockwave of earth that tore in that direction.

Riley waited to either catch the sound of injury or the smell of blood, she caught neither, assuring her that she hadn't hit her target.

Riley smirked again as she felt Zabuza approach. The nearly inaudible noise of his blade, slicing through air, caught her ear, again she lifted her sword and parried the strike, holding her ground against the much larger blade.

She felt Zabuza lean into the strike, locking swords with her.

"You're getting better at this. With each passing day your skill with a sword becomes more and more like my former comrades from the Mist. Yet I'm noticing you still haven't settled on a preferred style of fighting. You exchange blade hands, slip in and out of postures on a whim, you have skill in them, but none seem to fit, right?" Zabuza questioned her.

"Working on my own actually. Have to see what fits me best, after all, I do have twelve limbs, I can hold a sword in, so discerning a way to best utilize my body's abilities is taking some time." Riley responded, earning a nod from her son.

Right then, Riley heard needles rushing towards her again, she quickly shoved off of Zabuza and spun around, deflecting the needles with her sword, and then spun around once more to meet Zabuza's second strike.

"Close." Riley noted with a smirk, earning an irritated look from the swordsman in response.

as this really emphasized the fact that she was a god now.

"_Even using only a sword, she's still so powerful." _Zabuza thought to himself. While being relatively skilled with a blade at first, Riley's additional abilities such as her speed, reflexes, strength and extrasensory perceptions made her seem like a much more skilled swordsman than she really was.

Riley could sense Zabuza's frustrations, she herself felt a bit of it, she was so powerful that even with a handicap she towered above most people, even those with exceptional skills like Zabuza. Granted both Zabuza and Haku were only half-demons and hadn't yet fully achieved what they were capable of, as her children, but still.

Riley once more shoved Zabuza back and this time, she went on the offensive, charging forward and delivering a flurry of strikes with her own sword, keeping him on the defensive and pushing him back.

"Don't hold back just because I'm in the middle of training. The two of you need to come at me with the intent to kill, otherwise you aren't going to be teaching me anything." Riley stated, earning a focused look from Zabuza, who immediately jumped away from her into the mist.

"Alright then… Haku, let's step this up a bit." Zabuza growled from within the mist. Riley smirked as a hail of needles came rushing out from the fog, from every direction.

Riley was quick to rush forward, deflecting the needles that came from the front, and avoiding the ones that came from behind.

Out of the fog, Zabuza appeared, delivering a lightning fast slash to her midsection.

Riley blocked the strike, and held her ground, her smirk never leaving as the two began to trade blows.

With every strike, and every block, Riley slowly grew her ability with a blade, and the more she passed her power through it, the more alive it became. It was only a matter of time until the blade itself, gained a soul of it's own and became a true Zanpakutō.

**-London, November 30th 1998-**

"So how's Karui doing?" Riley inquired, sipping from from a glass of wine while she eyed her date.

Yugito blinked at the question and looked thoughtful as she chewed on her food. Using the opportunity of a full mouth gave Yugito a moment to ponder the question and formulate a response.

"She's doing fine. As fine as she can be. She had to go through a few months of evaluations to ensure she was physically and mentally fit to return to duty. She still has the occasional nightmare about your battle." Yugito responded, trying not to make it sound like an accusation, more so simply answering truthfully.

"Well I can be quite intimidating, or so I've been told. I don't blame her for still being a bit shaken. Still though, I am happy to hear that she's doing better. I'm assuming she passed all of her tests and has returned to active duty?" Riley asked.

"Yes. She has." Yugito affirmed, earning a nod from Riley.

The two went quiet for a few long moments, as Yugito turned her eyes down towards the plate of food in front of her, while Riley turned her gaze out towards the dining room they had found themselves in.

It was a rather luxurious place, definitely on the higher end of the dining experience. A muggle restaurant, that was, while not necessarily five stars, was definitely up there when it came to cuisine. While both women were dressed rather splendidly for the night out, Riley of course was under a henge to hide her eyes and demonic features.

Riley again drank from her glass of wine, taking in the flavor and measuring how it compared with the meal she had ordered. Being on a cooking binge, Riley had taken the opportunity to read up on everything on the menu and memorize the basic parts for all the items. She intended to try and replicate some of them on her own, just to see if she could, and if she were successful then she may finally start making some progress in being a reasonably decent cook.

Yugito had returned to her meal, mentally kicking herself, as she settled on the idea that she had sounded accusatory when she had answered Riley's question.

"**You are quite awful at this, I hope you know."** The Cat hummed with amusement.

"_I know. I cannot for the life of me, hold a conversation with this woman. It's those damned eyes of hers, they make me feel like any second she'll jump over this table and eat me."_ Yugito responded, earning a chuckle from the Two-Tailed Cat.

"**You can't converse with someone when you're so guarded around them. I know it's in the nature of shinobi to always question the motive behind everything and you can't easily shake that habit but come on Kitten, it's getting a bit ridiculous. She's so powerful she doesn't need to ****sleuth**** for information on Kumo to take it down. If she wanted to, she could attack it right now, and probably win. I know that thought terrifies you, so maybe you should look at it from a different perspective. She's so powerful, she doesn't need to weasel any info out of you. So that probably means she's actually genuinely interested in whatever she's asking."** The Cat offered up.

"_What should I say now though? Everything's gone quiet and I know I'm ruining this. We need to talk about something, anything. We need to get out of this slump. It's like she said, if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out, but neither of us is gonna know that, if all our conversations are so clipped. So what the hell do I do to get her talking?"_ Yugito asked in response.

"**Well you know about some of her interests, she obviously loves her family and her mates, maybe ask about them, that'll probably get her talking. Otherwise, maybe ask her about training, maybe she'll want to talk about some of her recent endeavors with a fellow kunuoichi." **The Cat suggested.

"_Hmm… that just might work." _Yugito responded.

"So… have you been doing a lot of training recently? Being the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki must be quite taxing to get used to, despite your history as one?" Yugito inquired, drawing Riley's attention back to her.

"Yeah, I've been doing a lot of training. In truth I've been really focused on increasing my sword skills. As for the Ten-Tails, I'm getting used to it." Riley responded.

"A sword? If you don't mind my asking, why focus on a sword? Isn't simple blade work below your profile as a warrior? The reports I've seen paint you more as a ninjutsu powerhouse." Yugito asked in response.

"Well I've taken an interest in it lately. Most of my magical training is focused on improving my control over the powers of the Ten-Tails. Sword training is something more physical and tactile that I can focus on while my control improves." Riley offered as an explanation, which just so happened to be partially accurate.

"I see. Any luck?" Yugito asked, intent on keeping the conversation going.

"Yeah, I'd say so. I'm mostly focused on developing a style the fits me, you know. I learned how to fight with a sword, when I was a kid but I never took as much of an interest in it, as I did to things like more offensive magic and ninjutsu. I'd definitely say I'm making some progress though." Riley responded.

"Hmm… you know, lord Killer Bee is quite the skilled swordsman. He taught Karui how to fight with a sword." Yugito noted, earning a thoughtful nod from Riley.

"I'd heard about that. Something about him being the practitioner of his own unique style, a seven sword style. I hear he's pretty skilled with a blade, though I admit I've never seen him fight before, so what I know is mostly second and third hand knowledge." Riley stated.

"He is quite skilled. One of the very best that Kumo has to offer." Yugito offered as praise for her friend and mentor.

"So… what would you say is your favorite area of ability to study in?" Riley inquired after a moment of pause.

"Ninjutsu and Taijutsu mostly." Yugito replied.

"Yeah, Ninjutsu and offensive magic is where I spend most of my time studying and developing new abilities." Riley offered a nod of agreement.

"Hmm… maybe we should train sometime. Test each other out." Riley offered, earning a snort of amusement from Yugito.

"We both know who would win, there is no point in a contest." She responded.

"Hey I said train. There is no winning or losing in training, you only get better the more you do it. Besides, I think it could be fun to let loose and throw down. After all, being a Jinchuriki, how often do you get to let loose and flex your muscles a bit?" Riley responded with a smirk.

Yugito looked to ponder the idea for a few moments before letting out a sigh and offering a nod.

"Nice! It's a date then." Riley offered with a smile, earning one from Yugito in response.

"Well since we're on the topic of the Ten-Tails and training, I had a question. That move you used against it, that space-time ninjutsu that you held in your hand, that made most of it's body vanish, what was that?" Yugito inquired, with genuine curiosity. Internally she wondered if Riley would answer or not, her inner shinobi, told her that she wouldn't no ninja would ever reveal information like that to someone who wasn't a close ally. Then again, Riley had proven to be different from most ninja, and in the same breath, she was prideful enough that maybe she'd reveal something about it.

Yugito had been curious about a great many things she had seen during that battle. Riley's ability to cut through and devour most of the Ten-Tails' massive form with that attack, Arturia's golden sword that managed to heavily wound the Ten-Tails, and caused the Cat to go blind momentarily from the brilliance, and even Riley's ability to seal away the Ten-Tails, where she had learned the seals necessary for such a thing. These were all things that Yugito was genuinely curious about, though given their nature, she wasn't too keen on just asking, but with this, maybe testing the waters couldn't hurt.

"That technique wasn't really a space-time ninjutsu, though I guess it could be given that it affects space-time. What I did was use my magic to generate a small Black-Hole and I simply allowed the black hole to do it's thing. I then used space-time ninjutsu to send the Black Hole to another dimension before it could adversely affect our world. As you saw, it's a technique that could be classified under the category of 'absolute offense'." Riley answered, enthralling Yugito almost immediately, as Riley began to explain what she'd actually done.

"You created a black hole? As in a literal, black hole?" Yugito asked, her eyes wide in shock.

"Yes. It was a literal black hole, a small one, but a black hole nonetheless." Riley responded with a smirk, sensing that she'd definitely hooked the Kumo Kunuoichi's interest.

"How did you ever manage to learn such an ability?" Yugito inquired, dumbfounded.

"Kumo may have Intel already on my ability to disappear utilizing a space-time ninjutsu from my eyes. The ability is called **Kamui**. It allows me to enter my own personal pocket dimension, where I control space and time, as if I were god. This dimension exists alongside the one you and I are in right now, and because of that, I can use **Kamui** to exit anywhere I've been before. It's basically a two step teleportation jutsu, where first I go to my pocket dimension and then I exit wherever I want. Obito Uchiha had the ability as well, but his **Kamui** and mine were separate from one another. I do a lot of my training in this pocket dimension as it's separate from our world, and thus no one can enter or exit without my assistance, and because of that, no one can spy on me. So to answer your question, I simply have plenty of time on my hands, and the ability to let loose without fear of hurting anyone, or being spied on by others. And before you ask, I'm willing to tell you this because I intended for us to go there to train, so we can let loose without worrying about damaging things. You can go all out, Bijuu and all, and no one gets hurt." Riley offered as an explanation. During the course of Riley's exposition, Yugito cycled through several different faces, going from curiosity, to confusion, then amazement, then back to curiosity again.

"Wow. So that's where you train? In this pocket dimension, where no one can interrupt you?" Yugito inquired.

"Yep. As I said, I control everything within. From it's shape, to how fast time flows, relative to the outside world. If I want to speed things along I could slow down time in **Kamui**, step inside, while within it would feel like a moment or two went by, while on the outside, hours or even days were passing. And on the flip side, I can do the opposite, speeding up time in **Kamui**, so that I can spend days or even weeks within, in only a few hours, or minutes on the outside." Riley explained, finishing with a shrug.

"Wait so how old are you, if you've sped up time within this pocket-dimension?" Yugito asked.

"I stopped counting a long time ago, but one-hundred and fifty, maybe one-sixty? I'm not sure, exactly." Riley answered, causing Yugito's jaw to drop.

"**Well that would explain why she's so powerful. She nearing two centuries old."** The Cat hummed, while Yugito gawked in disbelief.

"How have you survived so long?" Yugito asked, eyeing Riley in a new light.

"The **Rinnegan **isn't called the 'Eyes of God' just for their powers. The Sage of Six Paths had them, and if he wanted to, he could still be alive today. He chose mortality, despite having the ability to remain alive indefinitely. I chose differently. I no longer age. I wont grow old and die, and thus I can utilize the full extent of **Kamui**'s abilities without worry. The only drawback of **Kamui** is that it takes magic to remain inside of it, and the greater the time dilation, the more energy it draws from me. I naturally regenerate my powers fast enough to offset even the most extreme time dilation's, but it's still something I have to take into account." Riley explained, earning a slow nod from Yugito.

"**She's right Kitten. I knew the Sage personally. He chose to live a mortal life because he loved humans and wanted to be one of them, but he could have been immortal, those with the Rinnegan, have that option. And her eyes are on a level above the Rinnegan. She will never grow old, so long as she chooses to remain young, meaning she can train for as long as she wants and grow as strong as she wants, and not even time can stop her."** The Cat offered an affirmation of Riley's explanation.

"Wow. That's amazing. In all honesty, I didn't think you'd actually answer when I asked about one of your powers." Yugito admitted, earning a chuckle from Riley.

"Gaia already knows these things. If you're gonna be my wife one day, honesty has to start somewhere. Not to say I'll spill my guts just yet, but everything I've told you so far is stuff I've shared with my friends. I hope one day we can get past this uneasiness and I hope you'll understand that my disdain for Kumo has little more to do than them simply being outside of my realm of friends and acquaintances. I don't know them, they don't know me, but they're shinobi, that makes them paranoid, and dangerous to the people I love. So long as they never do anything to hurt those that I love, I have no reason to go after Kumo, or any Kumo ninja. I know the Raikage isn't willing to trust that, that's the truth, which is why he pushed so hard for this marriage alliance, but I hope one day you'll see that I'm telling the truth. I'm not that complex. I don't like bullies, I love my family. I love to train, and I love to fight. I love seeing those that I love, smile, and be happy. I like making them happy and doing things for them. Despite my powers, I'm not as complex as my mystique makes me out to be. I'm just a person, looking to fulfill her dreams in the world." Riley responded, smiling gently as she did so and surprisingly earning one in return from Yugito.

"And what are those dreams, if you don't mind my asking?" Yugito inquired.

"I guess, at it's core my dream is to make my loved ones happy. It's what I live for. Making them happy makes me happy. Expanding upon that though, I dream of building a place for them, a place that's free of all the bullshit of this world. All the stupid bickering and age old disputes over the dumbest shit. I want to build a world where they can forge their lives, and be happy, without this world shitting all over them. A place that isn't perfect, but… good. Great even. I know It'll be hard, and for the life of me, I don't even really know where to start, but that's what I wanna do. Like I said, I know it'll be tough, which is why I need to secure things on the home front before I start building my so called paradise. But yeah… that's my dream." Riley offered, her gaze turning pensive as she explained what she wanted to do in the world.

Yugito listened intently as Riley explained what she wanted to do in the world. More and more, Yugito found herself agreeing with the Cat. Riley showed herself as someone who lived for those she loved. Her dream revolved around their happiness. Despite her ferocity, despite her power, despite her 'take no prisoners' and 'take no shit' attitude, Yugito was starting to see that their truly was a kind heart within her. Something that reminded the Kumo ninja of the few times she'd interacted with the legendary First Hokage. Despite the man's aura, and his sheer power, he was unbelievably kind, and empathetic to the plight of others. Riley seemed a lot like that. She was aloof like Madara, but despite the appearance of not caring, Riley wanted the best for those she held closest to heart, and she seemed to care deeply for how they felt.

"What about you?" Riley inquired, slightly surprising Yugito whom had been in deep in thought.

"Oh, me? Well, my dream isn't really all that different from most peoples. I just want to do what I can for my village. I want people to see me for me, and not the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. I guess my dream is to just be happy, like everyone else." Yugito responded with a shrug. Riley offered a nod, though internally, Riley detected the underlying response that was left unspoken.

"_No matter the village, all Jinchuriki dream of being more than just Jinchuriki. They dream of being happy and more importantly, free."_ Riley thought to herself, taking a sip from her wine glass, and offering Yugito a smile.

"So… let's move this conversation in a different direction. You know a bit about my love life, so have you ever dated anyone else?" Riley inquired, causing Yugito to blush, and let out a noise of frustration that she quickly tried to hide as she picked up her fork and poked at her plate.

"No. Actually. I haven't dated anyone else." Yugito stated, very quietly, a blush tinging her cheeks a lovely pink.

"I'm surprised. A beautiful woman such as yourself. Powerful too. I'd figured you'd be beating them off with a stick." Riley responded, though internally she suspected that this would be the case. It was obvious from their previous dates that Yugito didn't have the typical kunuoichi seduction training. Even though most of the time is was geared towards men, a kunuoichi was often trained in seduction so as to assist with infiltration, sabotage, and assassination. In essence though, Yugito couldn't flirt worth a damn, which was honestly nice for Riley, as it meant she didn't have to put up with false pleasantries, and thus everything was the genuine article when it came to Yugito.

"I spent most of my teenage years, training to master the powers of the Two-Tails. By the time I'd reached adulthood, my reputation as a Jinchuriki got around, and no one was really interested in something so personal with me. And well… being a Jinchuriki, I never got sent on many missions far from the village so any opportunity to meet someone who didn't know what I was, wasn't a common occurrence." Yugito explained, trying her hardest not to sound contrite as she did so.

Riley offered a nod at that. "I understand. People fear things they cannot control. You have more power than most others. That leaves them terrified of you. It sucks having to deal with that."

Yugito simply nodded in agreement, remaining quiet as she did so.

The two were relatively quiet as they finished dinner and left the restaurant. They spent some time wandering the streets of London, enjoying the gentle snowfall, but engaging in relatively little conversation.

Closing in on 10 pm, Riley **Apparated **the two back to the hidden village, appearing outside of Yugito's chosen apartment.

"Well… I'd say I had fun, wouldn't you?" Riley inquired.

"I did. We should do this again sometime soon." Yugito offered earning a nod of agreement.

Riley stared at her for a moment, before her expression changed slightly, a smirk tugged at her lips, and Riley smoothly closed the distance between her and Yugito, catching the Kumo ninja with a quick kiss on the lips.

Yugito blushed brightly as Riley pulled away, still smirking. "Not so bad is it? I know it'll take work, but I really appreciate your willingness to open up to me today. We do need to get together and do some training too. I think it'll really help us unwind. But I agree we should try dinner again. I'll see you soon."

Yugito stared after her, eyes wide as Riley turned and headed off, making it a few feet before she vanished in a reddish-black flash.

"_Wow..."_ Yugito thought to herself as she reached up and gently touched her lips.

"**Wow is right kitten. That was almost electrifying. That woman sure can kiss. I guess it's to be expected, she has six other women to practice on." **The Cat hummed with a purr of delight.

Yugito silently nodded at that, still staring at where Riley had been.

"**So… How was your first kiss Kitten? Twenty years of imagining what it would be like if someone kissed you, and now you've finally felt it. Was it as good as you fantasized it would be?" **Matatabi inquired, earning silence from her host.

"Wow." Was the only reply she got, causing the cat to burst out laughing.

**-Rapture. December 20th 1998-**

"Our forces are being prepared as we speak, reconnaissance has already begun." Kabuto explained to Daphne.

"Rockfort Island, huh?" Daphne responded, turning her gaze over towards Wesker, whom stood with his his back to them, gazing at a wall covered in maps of the targeted destination.

"An Umbrella research facility, headed by Alfred Ashford, one of the heads of Umbrella. Striking at the facility will weaken Umbrella's ability to manufacture new weapons, and conduct further research, and dealing with Alexander will be a severe blow to the corporations leadership." Wesker responded, glancing over his shoulder at her.

"I see. And you want my help, for what purpose exactly?" Daphne inquired.

"Your unique bloodline ability. You can freeze any B.O.W. we come across, and then we can capture them for study. Even if they are killed in the process, we'll have access to their genetic structure without fear of the creature retaliating. As for other Bio-weapons, the support of your vampiric pet, will be invaluable." Kabuto answered.

"I understand. Hellsing doesn't usually get involved in such operations, however, as a personal favor to the Legion, and in the spirit of cooperation, I'd be more then happy to offer my assistance." Daphne responded, earning a smirk from both men.

"Gather what you require for the operation. If everything goes as planned, we will commence with our assault on the twenty-seventh. One week from today." Wesker stated, earning a nod from Daphne.

"Just so you're both aware, asking me to participate in this operation, will as the very least, earn 'her' attention. Bringing her along is overkill, even for something like this, but you do recognize that due to our connection, asking me is the equivalent of asking her?" Daphne pointed out.

"We suspected as much, but at some point we need to be able to conduct operations without Lady Riley there to hold our hand. Rockfort island will be a good test for the Legion, even if she's there simply to observe." Kabuto offered as a response.

"Well, just so long as you're aware. I will gather what I need and prepare Alucard. We'll be ready for operation. If there are any new developments, please let me know, otherwise, I'll see you both in a weeks time." Daphne offered to the two of them, earning nods as she turned and departed the room.

-**Antarctica, December 30****th**** 1998-**

Explosions rocked the facility as Albert Wesker approached his comrades. His clothes were heavily torn, and blood stained his body. His signature sunglasses had been lost during the fighting, but despite his appearance, he wore a smirk upon his face.

"You let him go?" Daphne noted as he approached them.

"Yes, an idea struck me. I believe Chris has use to us. He's more valuable alive at this venture. Regardless, Alfred and Alexia are both dead, and we've recovered a sample of the T-Veronica Virus. Our work here is done." Wesker responded as one of the Legionnaires passed him a coat to cover himself.

Wesker received the item and slid the jacket on, as many of the Legionnaires began to **Apparate** away from the exploding facility.

"Are we finished playing with the dead, master?" Alucard inquired as he rose up from the ground next to Daphne.

"That we are. Let's get the hell out of here." Daphne responded, offering her hand to both Alucard and Wesker, taking both with her as she **Apparated **away, moments before the facility erupted into flames.

High in the skies above Umbrella's Antarctic facility, Riley hovered, her **Byakugan** active, as she observed all of the events play out. Her eyes never leaving Daphne or her son. Always offering the illusion of freedom, but never far from the demoness's grasp. As soon as they were safely away, Riley disappeared, returning to England to wait for her wife's return.

**-Pentref Cysgodian Hud, England, an hour later-**

"Both the Rockfort Island facility, and the Antarctic facility have been destroyed." Wesker explained to Itachi.

"Yes, I gathered the first part from some of our scouts overseeing the operation. They were however unable to inform me as to why the strike team traveled from the Rockfort Island Facility, all the way to the Antarctic. I'm hoping you all can enlighten me as to what transpired there?" Itachi responded.

"Everything went to hell, from the very start. The moment our presence was detected, Alfred Ashford released B.O.W.'s upon the facility and the nearby village in an attempt to halt our advance. We gathered samples over the following days and attempted to relocate survivors, their memories being wiped to remove our presence from their recollection. Eventually we were able to push past the infected and overtake the facility without any loss of life on our side. Before he could be captured, Alfred fled the facility to the Antarctic base. Given that our primary mission involved eliminating him, and with the Rockfort facility set to self-destruct, I gave order for all onsite personnel to either pursue or retreat, based off of their location. We succeeded in following Alfred to Antarctica, where he was in the midst of awakening his twin sister, Alexia Ashford. She was in the process of perfecting a new form of the T-Virus and was heavily involved in a secret Umbrella project known as Code Veronica. We were able to ensure both of their deaths, as well as recovering several B.O.W.'s and the new T-Veronica Virus as well." Wesker explained to Itachi whom listened patiently to the report.

"I see." Itachi stated, looking thoughtful.

"We were also able to acquire technology and equipment from both facilities, doubling our gains from the mission and wiping out two of Umbrella's top facilities. We also got our hands on the schematics for an experimental mass driver weapon, similar in function to the Sword of Paracelsus, that Riley recovered from Raccoon City." Daphne offered up as well.

"While we were there though, Wesker ran into a few old acquaintances of his. Friends from his time as a STARS member back in Raccoon City." Kabuto added as well, fixing his glasses as he did.

"I see. Did they recognize you?" Itachi inquired.

"Yes. I recognized an opportunity for us, and I seized upon it, in the moment." Wesker responded.

"And what opportunity is that? You went through great trouble to fake your death, this could spread word of your survival." Itachi noted.

"Indeed. The man in question whom I met was an old subordinate of mine. Chris Redfield. He was there looking for his sister, whom had been kidnapped by Umbrella for unknown reasons. Chris was always driven, and tenacious, I've been keeping an ear out for him while we prepared for our attack on Rockfort Island. He's been looking into Umbrella, working to strike out against it. I believe we can use him. A useful pawn, to strike at Umbrella from the light, while we operate in the shadows." Wesker began his explanation, as Itachi began to look thoughtful.

"You believe this old subordinate has the skills to take on Umbrella?" Itachi inquired.

"I trained him. And he was STARS. The best. If nothing else, he will stop at nothing to claim his so-called justice, against the corporation. We can use his crusader-like mentality to our advantage. Moving him and his allies into a position to topple Umbrella while we plunder it's corpse." Wesker answered with a smirk.

"Manipulating him into being our attack dog? You think you can pull it off?" Itachi asked.

"A few bits of information here or there. A tip, on Umbrella's movements, and actions. We have plans in place to establish control over the B.O.W. black market, and keep it under control. Using Chris and his allies, we can also manipulate the agencies that'll begin moving to fight Bio-Organic threats, and we have the perfect vehicle to mask our movements." Wesker responded, glancing towards Daphne, who was listening in.

"Hellsing? As a governmental organization that has strong ties to dealing with monsters, Hellsing could be useful in helping us control this situation from both sides. The Legion strikes out from the shadows, while the Hellsing Organization guides from the light. Both Organizations grow stronger and work off of each other to control this growing situation. We have no proof that Wesker's and Kabuto's fears are founded just yet. We have no proof that these weapons will find their way onto the Black Market, but, in the event that they do, and they're right, perhaps it is in our best interest to ensure we have some measure of control over this from all angles." Itachi noted thoughtfully, sharing a glance with Daphne who also looked pensive.

"I see no problem working together to deal with the threat of B. I am curious to hear how the Legion intends to seize control of the B.O.W black market, if it does arise? This is the first I'm hearing about it." Daphne inquired, acting in full capacity as the head of Hellsing.

"It's just preliminary ideas right now, as such a thing hasn't fully formed to our knowledge, but both Wesker and Kabuto fear that the collapse of an organization as large as Umbrella will see their Bio-weapons end up in the hands of various paramilitaries, rebels, terrorists, and other corporations. Naturally such weapons will surge through the black market. In their spare time, the two of them have been working along with William Birkin, to establish contingency plans so that we may seize some measure of control over the black market itself, using it to locate our enemies and striking out at them from the shadows." Itachi explained, earning a slow nod of understanding from Daphne.

"I see. Acting the part of buyers and or sellers from the shadows, and when those we deal with cause problems, the Legion can strike out at them, using the information gathered through business dealings. Black ops operations, I get it." Daphne surmised.

"As of right now, any and all Bio-weapons on the black market, aren't really free reign. They may be on the list of products but Umbrella is keeping a close eye on them, using various buyers to test their weapons for them. However, when Umbrella collapses, there is a strong possibility that those within the corporation will try to make as much money as possible by liquidating Umbrella's weapons on the Black Market. Once those weapons see use, they'll spread, creating a bio-weapons arms race between various groups. The Legion will be called upon to deal with these various groups when they start causing trouble. We have some ideas in mind to try and create a method of controlling the B. , in essence, if we can fine tune these creatures to send some sort of signal to us whenever they're being used for terrorist purposes, then the Legion can react, dealing with these individuals." Kabuto offered as additional explanation.

"I see. So we make or buy these creatures. Modify them so that they can tell when they're being used to say, attack innocent civilians, an inherently evil act, one the Legion would seek to stop. Because it's our weapons that they're using, we know who's doing the killing, and more importantly, we know what they have at their disposal. So while one side of the Legion operates anonymously, the other takes the information provided and deals with any and all groups that are using these weapons for nefarious purposes. Meanwhile, anyone buying them for legitimate warfare, fighting governments, or other groups, they simply act as regular weapons. We still know about it, but since they aren't doing anything nefarious, so long as we're not hired by the other side, we simply take payment for the weapons and the Legion walks away a bit richer. So, basically the idea is to sell weapons to various groups and use said weapons to determine the Legion's targets. It's interesting. While I don't know how I feel about providing the tools for such groups to carry out their agendas, I do understand that if they aren't buying from us, they'll buy from someone else. At least this way, we can target them, and destroy them quickly." Daphne summarized what she had learned.

"Add onto it, that our ties to the black market will allow us to keep Hellsing fully appraised on any new Bio-Weapons that hit the market, allowing you to better advise various groups on how to deal with them. In the end, whether it's for noble purposes or not, we have the advantage." Kabuto offered up, a devious glint in his eyes.

From the shadows nearby, glowing purple eyes watched as the conversation played out. What the Legion did, and how it conducted itself was of little concern to Riley. She only cared that it prospered, and that her friends and family did as well.

No matter what they decided to do, Riley would be there to aid in their endeavors. Their happiness made her happy, so she'd help them in whatever way she could, all the while she was constantly learning, constantly growing her power. Every lesson, every new scrap of technology, every new ideology encountered, led Riley to further develop her idea for paradise. It was nothing more than a hazy image at this point, but with each passing day, it grew more clear, Riley need only continue to grow, and soon, her paradise would take shape, and she would set forth to construct it.

A pure world, built for those the mighty demoness held closest to heart.

**-****To Be Continued-**

_**Alright, here's the next chapter for everyone, hope you all like it, lots of setup and various events occurring. I skipped over many of the events of Code Veronica, while trying to summarize what the Legion did, while involved in it. I never played the game, and spending hours reading up on it, on a wiki, and then trying to write how Riley travels through it, seemed like it'd be boring for you guys, so I just noted that they went there, thing basically went the same as they did in the game, and Wesker, despite being stronger than his canon counterpart, chose to let Chris Redfield live, in order to use him as a pawn, having Chris take down Umbrella, and any other enemies they may have, while Wesker leads him on, from the shadows.**_


	12. 12: An Angel's Task

_**Alright, here's the next chapter for you, hope you all enjoy it. **_

_**A big shout out to Kilare T'suna, who has helped me out a great deal with all sorts of ideas and story points. Without people like him to help offer ideas and help me refine my own, I'd have been unable to get this far in the story. We worked together on a lot of stuff, and he was kind enough to help me refine the idea for Riley's Zanpakuto, using our own ideas as well as things that the rest of my readers suggested. I hold him accountable for a lot of the stuff that's coming up in the future, and it was thanks to his questions that I was able to refine a lot of my ideas as well. It was incredibly helpful and a huge benefit to have his help, when it came to spitballing ideas and talking about various plot points. So to him and everyone else that's ever offered up their own ideas, or contacted me via pm to chat about various story elements, a big thank you. Truly means the world to me. **_

_**If anyone ever wants to discuss story ideas or even inquire about story elements, I'm always free to chat, I find it fun to do and don't really mind it. I always try to answer questions when they're posted in the reviews section, so if you have any questions and really want an answer, all I ask is that you have an account I can respond to and I'll actually reply. I've read every review posted for my stories, and I'll continue to read them, so never hesitate to ask, if you require clarification or new something cleared up. **_

_**On that note, I'll also offer a shoutout to 588963-B for his idea later in this chapter, thanks for that.**_

_**Anyway, I'm happy to get this out so soon, and I'm hoping to keep up on getting these chapters out every two weeks or so, so that this story doesn't take four years to finish. Hope you enjoy, and have fun. :)**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

Chapter 12: An Angel's Task

**-Malfoy Manor. Wiltshire, England. January 1st 1999-**

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Cheers rang out from the ballroom of Malfoy Manor.

Toasting and celebration swept through the crowd and many celebrated the beginning of a new year.

Riley stood not far off from her best friend, as Draco and his father addressed the crowd offering their well wishes to their friends and allies, and offering their hope for a prosperous and joyful new year.

Riley raised her glass to their proclamation, offering her friend a nod of approval when his eyes passed over her.

Once the cheers settled down and the speeches were done, the party resumed with drinking, dancing, and merriment abound.

Riley proceeded to float about the room, speaking with her various friends, colleagues, and allies. She came to rest near Shisui and Itachi, both of whom were standing off to the side, admiring the festivities and formal atmosphere of the ball.

"You two seem to be having fun." Riley noted, approaching them.

"It continues to shock me more and more how mister stick-in-the-mud here, mister all-work and no-play, actually seems to enjoy the life of a lord." Shisui stated with a giggle, Itachi giving him a side glance in response and light sigh, as he sipped from his wine glass.

"I would hope he's enjoying himself. Someone in his line of work, needs to take whatever opportunity he can to have some fun. Fancy dances like this, are a good way wine and dine with potential allies and rivals. The best way to learn the dance of politics is simply to play the game and survive." Riley responded sagely, earning a nod of agreement from Itachi, while Shisui let out a playful sigh.

"Some things never change. What about you? You looking to spend your night forging political alliances and maneuver your cavalcade of houses into a better bargaining position for future power plays?" Shisui inquired.

"One would think saving the entire fucking world would earn me a lifetime pass in getting people's attention whenever I open my mouth. Than again, as the saying goes, 'eventually, no one gives a shit'. So maybe I do need to keep up with the social elites of the world, lest I be forgotten when the next so-called hero rises up to take the spotlight." Riley responded, earning a chuckle from both men.

"Well, I'll leave the both of you to the dance of politics, while you're busy with that, I'm gonna look into more intimate forms of dancing." Shisui responded, his eyes flickering over to a young woman and her friend, both of whom were glancing in their direction, eyeing Shisui and Itachi, and whispering to each other, while passing around playful smirks and giggles.

"Go get 'em tiger." Riley stated, as Shisui strolled off to go flirt.

"Given his proclivity for childishness, and foolery, I do hope he conducts himself with some manner of decency. At least enough that I don't have to worry about an avalanche of bastard Uchiha children in the near future." Itachi hummed, earning a giggle from Riley.

"Speaking of which, when are you gonna take part in your 'duty to the clan' as it were, and aid your little brother in repopulating?" Riley inquired.

"I have no aversion to such things, I have simply kept myself quite busy in recent years, with our plans, and with the war, and now with building up the Legion. If the opportunity ever presents itself, then I will seize upon it, and find a suitable matriarch of the Uchiha. For now though, I have a few too many other duties to worry about." Itachi responded.

"Well, just so you know, if that opportunity does present itself, and you do seize upon it, I just want you to understand, from the bottom of my heart, that here and now, I consent." Riley stated with a devilish smirk, earning a confused look from Itachi who turned his gaze to her.

"What?" Was how he responded.

Riley's smirk grew as she turned her gaze over towards another cluster of young women. These one's just so happened to be some of Riley's daughters. Including Elsa, her sister/mate in Anna, Eleanor, Elizabeth, and Amaru.

Itachi followed her gaze and noticed Eleanor pull her gaze away from the group and look right at him. She reacted with surprise when their eyes met and quickly looked away, an unseen blush touching at her cheeks, and earning giggles from Elsa and Anna who both caught the action.

Itachi blinked several times before turning his gaze back to Riley, whom nodded at him.

"Just remember, she's got three parents your gonna have to deal with, so be ready." Riley giggled earning a quiet sigh from Itachi, though the corners of his mouth did rise up in the beginnings of a smile, and he did let out a single chuckle as he turned away from her.

Riley gave him a pat on the back, and glanced back at her daughters. She noticed Eleanor glance over at the two of them again, eyeing Itachi from across the room, and she wasn't the only one. Elizabeth was also casting her gaze towards the Uchiha patriarch.

Riley smirked, sensing, even from across the room, their underlying attraction towards the handsome Lord-Commander.

"_Careful there Itachi, you may have two of my girls yearning for your affections._ _Break either of their hearts and I'm gonna break something of yours."_ Riley thought to herself, finishing with an internal giggle as she turned to the rest of the room.

"_**Hey, who knows, both of them might pursue him. After all the Uchiha clan is down to what, Thirteen members? Maybe Fifteen? And your daughters do come from a family of polygamists."**_ Kurama offered up as a possibility.

"_Well, we'll just have to see. Maybe something will happen maybe it wont. Maybe he'll get with one of them, and piss off the other, triggering a sisterly feud that I'm gonna have to bust my non-existent nuts to fix, or he'll piss off both of them, and they'll enact some sort of comical bodily harm upon him, and I'll have to cheer them on, while also offering my friend an escape so as to avoid any sort of permanent damage? I guess we'll just have to wait and see."_ Riley responded as she made her way over to where Hashirama, Tobirama, and Kaguya were standing.

"Enjoying yourselves?" Riley inquired.

"The ball is quite lovely. It's nice seeing people so happy and celebrating." Hashirama responded with a smile.

"It is nice to unwind sometimes and enjoy the simpler things in life." Tobirama agreed, following his statement up with a drink from his wine glass.

"Where's grandfather Madara and uncle Izuna?" Riley inquired, noticing the brothers absence.

"Madara went to go and retrieve Izuna before he makes a fool out of himself. Your uncle is busy trying to court some of the young women here, and I don't Madara likes his chances." Tobirama responded.

"Speaking of making a fool out of themselves, what about that young woman you were speaking with earlier? Just making friendly conversation?" Hashirama inquired with a teasing grin, earning an irritated look from his younger brother.

Riley merely chuckled at their antics, happy to know that her family were pursuing more lighthearted endeavors. The threat of the end of the world may be looming on the horizon but that was no reason to simply cower and hide from life. Best to find what happiness they could, while there was still time.

"You've been training for a lot longer recently." Kaguya noted, earning curious looks from both Hashirama and Tobirama, and drawing Riley back to the conversation.

"Yeah. How'd you know?" Riley inquired.

"You asked Kushina to go on a week long training trip into **Kamui**. You two returned a few minutes later, and you told her not to say anything to your mates, since they don't like you spending so much time away from them. Kushina agreed, and then you slipped away and immediately went and asked Arturia to go train with you in **Kamui**." Kaguya explained, earning a sheepish look from Riley.

"How long are you up too now Riley?" Hashirama inquired with a sigh, knowing how the demoness was when it came to training.

"No more than two months a day, and I've been spacing that out to about once a week on top of my normal training. Pretty much all of it though is training with my sword. I feel it growing more alive with each passing day. I don't think it'll be long at this rate." Riley replied.

"So long as you keep it from getting too outlandish. You know how they'll react, especially since this'll be the third time you've had that argument. Two months in one day is one thing, and I know you can handle it, just remember to keep from getting too crazy alright." Hashirama stated, earning a nod from Riley.

"I will." Riley responded, with a sigh, that was quickly replaced by an accepting smile. Slowly she turned her gaze out towards the party, searching for her mates.

"And I'm telling you, if you don't pick something soon, I'm gonna be engaged and married to her before you are." Katie stated, a bit louder then she probably meant. The alcohol she'd already consumed, was starting to cause her to slur her words.

Fleur offered a nod at that, eyeing Katie with a lovely smile as the two of them discussed several personal matters.

"I know. I just wish it was not so difficult to choose. I have been dreaming of marrying her since I was fourteen. Now zat ze option is on ze table, I want it to be ze best zat it can be." Fleur responded, taking a sip from her own glass of wine, as Katie placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, the two of you have been head over heals for each other, basically from the start. I know you want this to be perfect but you know deep down that its gonna be amazing no matter when you decide to have it so just close your eyes, picture your wedding and the first season that pops into your head, you pick it, and stick with it!" Katie stated.

"You think zat will work?" Fleur inquired.

"Yes! Just picture your wedding in your mind, whatever shows up is obviously what you want most so go with that." Katie replied.

While Fleur started to look thoughtful, elsewhere in the party, Riley was busy eavesdropping on their conversation.

"**You're driving her crazy you know." **Kurama muttered, half asleep, and barely paying attention.

"_I know, I'll put an end to this." _Riley responded with a sigh.

Riley quickly made her way across the room, approaching Fleur from behind and pulling her into an embrace.

Fleur let out a startled gasp, but then smiled brightly as she recognized Riley's presence.

"Hello my love, having fun?" Fleur inquired, while Katie let out a chuckle.

"Yeah. Was busy thinking, and after seeing this fancy ball, and enjoying the festivities, I've made the decision that I'm not gonna let another year go by without making you my wife. So… I've decided, come summer time, I want to be married. You can set the date, but I'm not waiting any longer then that." Riley said to her, causing a smile to spread across Fleur's face.

"You know, I was zinking somezing along zose lines." Fleur responded, as she settled into Riley's embrace.

"Good. I hope you're as excited as I am, because I don't plan on coming back from our honeymoon until both of us are knocked up." Riley said as she kissed at Fleur's neck.

Both Fleur and Katie, blushed at that, their eyes locking. Katie mouthed 'Lucky girl', while Fleur bit her lower lip and tried to hide her smile.

"Both? You want a baby too?" Fleur inquired, her eyes still locked with Katie's both of them grinning like Cheshire cats.

"Oh yes. One with each of my ladies." Riley growled sensually into Fleur's ear.

Both Fleur and Katie started to giggle at that, as Riley released Fleur from her grasp and held her arms out for Katie. Riley kept her chin rested on Fleur's shoulder as Katie stepped up to her, allowing Riley to place her arms around her, while the two sandwiched Fleur between them, both resting their heads on either of her shoulders.

"I wonder what they're so happy about?" Daphne inquired aloud, from where she stood next to Tracy, and Pansy.

In unison, all three turned to glance at Luna nearby, whom slowly turned to meet their gaze.

She stared back innocently, while Daphne raised an eyebrow.

"You know you could always just ask them?" Luna stated.

"Yeah but that would ruin the moment." Tracy replied.

"True. I think they settled on a wedding date, and now I think Riley's being a flirt, talking about babies and whatnot." Luna stated, drinking some fruit punch.

"That'll do it." Daphne noted with a smirk.

"So Daph, any word on when you two will start the ol' family. You've been married for what now, two years?" Tracy inquired with a deviant little smirk.

"I have other important things I'm focused on right now. I'm hoping to start my own family within five years, but we'll just have to see how things play out." Daphne responded earning a giggle from Tracy.

"Always the busy body Daph. One day I'm gonna convince you to be spontaneous, and you're gonna love it!" Tracy giggled playfully.

"Hmph." Daphne snorted in amusement, while shaking her head. If only Tracy knew, every day with Riley was a day of spontaneity. Every day, a day of fun, excitement, and even pleasure. Riley did what she could to make life enjoyable, even if the best she could manage for the day was a massage and some quiet time to bask in each others presence.

Daphne let out a chuckle and shook her head. Things were going to be interesting when a baby came around. She was certain that when that happened, she'd see a part of Riley that none of them had ever seen before, but in that curiosity, came a hidden danger, that Daphne hoped her fellow mates were thinking about whenever the idea of children came to mind. That danger was if, this was how Riley was with them, if this was how paranoid, and overprotective she was with just the potential of her mates true purpose, what would she be like when they actually started giving the demoness children?

Every book, and every dusty old tome that Daphne found within the Hellsing manner, any of them that detailed demons, would often note how one of the only traits that demons shared with living things like humans, was a 'biological' imperative. Where in humans it was reproduction, in demons in was growing their power. Sex was a powerful driving force for humans, it made then due incredible things, that more often then not crossed the line into sheer stupidity. Demons had a similar drive, that was even more powerful. Having children was a way for Riley's power to grow, and as a demon, she was bound by her own nature to indulge in whatever enhanced said power. Such a thing was obvious when the number of children they'd already found, was considered, and that idea always made Daphne a bit apprehensive, as so far she was up to three children.

Her eyes slowly drifted over her demonic mate as a tingle of excitement that she had no way of controlling, passed through her body. Eventually the courting dance would end, and Riley would start having children, while a part of Daphne was excited at the prospect of a baby, and a family, another part of her whispered in her ear to never forget. Any child born from her would be a half-demon, and because they were Riley's children, they'd be unspeakably powerful. But in the same breath, any children that Riley had, would be full demons. Only one had been found so far, and that child was a literal aspect, an Archdevil of such power that it was literally tied to all of the darkness that surrounded it, and could feed off of it all at once.

What would the next full demon look like? What powers would it command? Only time would tell, and eventually, Riley wouldn't be finding these children, she'd be creating them herself. Despite Riley's nonexistent desire to rule, a part of Daphne knew that the future of the world lay in the hands of demons. If not Riley, then her demonic brood. And that thought was both terrifying and admittedly exciting.

-**The planet Oa, January 6****th**** 1999-**

"And you are certain of this?" Spoke one of the Guardians of the Universe.

Standing before them were two members of the Green Lantern Corp. One a longtime Veteran, Hal Jordan, and the other, a relatively new member, John Sterwart. After cleaning up the mess in Fairport on Earth, the two had returned to the headquarters of their organization to deliver a report on what had happened directly to their superiors, the blue skinned humanoid aliens known as the Guardians.

"Yes. Our rings were unable to get a proper reading on her, but they were able to tell us that it was definitely magic. And powerful stuff at that. Her power was heavily suppressed but the rings calculated massive energy wells within her. No idea how vast they are, only that they were huge, and nearly pitch black." Hal Jordan explained to them.

"A black magical aura could only mean one thing. A dark creature of some sort. Something from beyond the veil of reality. An invader." One of the guardians surmised.

"You spoke with this being. It seemed rational?" Another asked the two.

"The first time I spoke with it, it claimed it was just cleaning up the place, after it had murdered dozens of corrupt law enforcement officers. It was unbothered by it. Almost like it was a trivial matter. The second time though, it was far more emotional. It said it was getting revenge for what the humans had done to it's child, and grandchildren. It was angry, and sounded like it was in pain. The kind of emotional pain that comes with knowing something awful happened to someone you care for." John explained to them.

"These types of creatures are highly emotional. Despair, and anguish are in their general repertoire of emotions." One of the Guardians noted.

"If it is as powerful as they say, than why has it not yet attacked Earth? When these creatures do attack, more often than not, they hit with such overwhelming force that they drag the world away into their universe before we can stop them. This one doesn't though." Another Guardian noted.

"It does not desire Earth. It's needs are more specific. Did it give you any indication as to these desires?" Was the next questioned directed at the two humans.

"From the sounds of it, she just wanted to protect her family and her loved ones. Sounded almost like a human rationalization to me." Hal Jordan responded garnering a nod of agreement from his comrade.

"Possession perhaps?" One Guardian speculated.

"Yet the body has yet to burn out. Perhaps this has something to do with that demonic arrival felt all those years ago, that we dismissed as a false alarm. Or perhaps it's connected to the awakening the old god, the corrupted tree of life." Came another suggestion.

"We require answers. If this entity is as powerful as you claim, then we may be dealing with Prime Evil Earth." Came the statement from one of the guardians.

"Prime Evil Earth?" John Stewart whispered to his comrade.

"By my understanding, when something evil come through to our dimension and it's got the power to take a world back home with it, it's known as a prime evil. They think that thing we fought, might be Earth's Prime Evil." Hal Jordan explained.

"If that's true, then why hasn't she taken it yet?" John asked.

"That is what we need you to find out for certain. If it truly is Prime Evil Earth. Than we must know why it has not attacked it yet. What it truly wants. You said it was reacting to an assault on it's family. Pursue the idea. Perhaps there is some truth to that. We must know for certain, until we do… all of Earth is in mortal danger." The Guardians delivered their orders to the two men, earning hard looks from both of them.

**-Kamui**, **January 7th 1999-**

"Such speed..." Artoria let out a huff, holding herself up, but only barely. Her bones ached and her muscles screamed in pain.

Not far off, Zabuza Momochi was leaning heavily on Kubikiribōchō. Both of them were near to complete exhaustion. Before them a sword clash raged on that was near imperceptible to the eye.

Riley lashed out against her great-great-granduncle, with intense ferocity. The second Hokage was not the most skilled swordsman in the world, but he made up for his skill with his extreme speed. He was one of the few, other than Madara, and Hashirama that could keep up with Riley.

Speaking of those two, both men charged into the fray, their own personal blades at the ready, trading blows with demoness as she utilized her newly developed sword style to overpower their offensive.

Riley's sword style, which she had named the **Red Crescent Blade Style**, after her grandfather's Taijutsu style. The principle of the blade style was almost the exact same. An all-out offensive style that relied heavily on strikes, and counter-offensive maneuvers. The major difference between the two was that where the **Red Crescent Assault Style**, was designed to turn the **Uchiha Interceptor Fist** into a crowd control Taijutsu style, the **Red Crescent Blade Style**, was designed to be utilized either against a single foe, or multiple attackers. The principle was the utilization of overwhelming force and an unmatched number of attacks.

Riley had actually developed the style after her date with Yugito. It was Yugito bringing up the Eight Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee, and his swordsmanship, that reminded Riley of what she had heard about his **Seven Sword Style**. Killer Bee would hold swords in between his limbs, keeping them held in places like the crook of his arm, or under the knee. He would them perform spinning maneuvers lashing out at his target from multiply angles and heights, while also tossing some of the blades into the air and catching them in his hands to attack with as well. The whole point of Killer Bee's style from what Riley had heard about it and read about it in the Bingo Book, was that it was impossible to follow. Only Bee knew the intricacies of the movements. Only Bee could follow what was happening.

With that came inspiration for Riley, and she'd spent the time since then, developing and honing her developing sword style, utilizing similar concepts.

With Riley's speed, reflexes, strength, and ten additional limbs, she had successfully developed a sword style that her relatives admittedly had no counter for.

While consistently using her tails, to continue the offensive Riley was able to unleash and immeasurable number of blows against her opponents or opponents in this case.

Not only could she use her tails to grab hold of the blade and alter it's trajectory, increase or decrease the power behind the blow, she could also pass the blade into the grip of one of her tails, freeing up her hands, and allowing her tails to rain down blows from the blade from near any angle while Riley attacked with her fists or another weapon.

The final part of this sword style was the incorporation of **Shikotsumyaku**, or **Dead Bone Pulse**. To extend bones from certain parts of her body, as well as the ends of eight of her tails, unleashing a torrent of blade strikes that Izuna admitted not even his **Sharingan** could follow.

As of now the style had three levels. Level one involved Riley just using her hands, and was quite powerful for being newly developed, and honestly riddled with movement errors that would need correction under the watchful eye of a master swordsman. Level two involved the utilization of her tails, increasing the ferocity of the attack, and making it even more of a nightmare to deal with her at close range. Level three would then incorporate **Dead Bone Pulse, **unleashing the full nightmarish power of the style.

There was a fourth level that Riley intended to reach, but first she had to master her new style, clear it of errors, and missteps. The fourth level would involve Riley releasing the sword into the care of her tails and utilizing her now freed limbs to use the **Red Crescent Assault Style**, in tandem with the **Red Crescent Sword Style**. Theoretically creating a storm of swords and fists that would easily overwhelm any adversary at close range.

Right now though, Riley knew she wasn't there. It'd take a while to master her new sword style, and then she'd need hone her favored Taijutsu style to incorporate it's moves into an ultimate Taijutsu style.

All of Riley's hard work, with the aide of her various trainers and led to this training session, which now saw Artoria, Zabuza, Shisui, and Izuna, out of the fight, exhausted and injured. While Kushina, Tobirama, Madara, and Hashirama, continued on the offensive.

The flurry of combat between Riley and Tobirama was utterly mesmerizing as the two traded blow after blow. Artoria herself could only watch, mesmerized as Tobirama deflected a downward slash from Riley, only for her to simply release the blade from her hand allowing it to lift into the air, one of her tails was right there waiting for it, wrapping around the handle of the blade, and delivering a second downward slash as Tobirama recovered from deflecting the first.

The second Hokage saw the slash coming and knew he had no way of blocking it, so he quickly activated the **Hiraishin, **teleporting out of the way to avoid the attack.

As he vanished from sight, Kushina closed in on Riley, lashing out at her with both swords. She was immediately joined by Madara, both of whom sent Riley backpedaling as she slipped out of her sword style and was forced onto the defensive.

So far that had been the only way Riley's family had found to defeat her when using her new sword style. The point of Riley's style was an unending flurry of strikes, that didn't stop until the enemy was dead. It offered no reprieve and no moment of rest, if you were caught within it, you had no choice but to flee, otherwise you'd be overwhelmed. The only other way out was to beat the demoness at her own game by overwhelming her, and thus breaking her own of the style, and forcing her onto the defensive.

Of course something like that wasn't really a counter to Riley, more so her style. As it was only due to the rules of this particular training session, that kept Riley from utilizing more then just her sword and Taijutsu abilities. In real battle, overwhelming her at close range may disrupt her sword style, but she'd simply stop using it and return to her own favored style of combat which involved the overwhelming application of spells and Ninjutsu.

As Riley continued to deflect her mother's and grandfather's assault, she caught sight of Hashirama in the background, readying his own assault on her.

A moment later, and he went on the offensive, activating his wood style, causing large tree branches to burst out of the ground and life the First Hokage high into the air. Over a dozen smaller tree branches lifted up around Hashirama, each one holding a large weapon of various designs at it's end. These weapons ranged from large swords, and windmill Shuriken, to axes and scythes, and even a naginata in one.

"Now!" Hashirama roared, causing Madara and Kushina to jump away from Riley.

Immediately following, all twelve tree limbs lashed out with their weapons, raining blow after blow down on Riley as she continued to backpedal.

Riley moved quickly as the tree limbs assaulted her, ensuring that she kept them from surrounding her and attacking her flanks or rear.

Riley watched the onslaught bear down on her almost in slow motion, she analyzed all of the oncoming attacks, blocking each one, as she waited for an opening to go on the offensive.

As she did this, she began to channel magic into the blade, filling it with her demonic power.

Her intention was to use wind magic to cut right through her great-grandfather's arsenal of weapons.

Her opening came when she spotted one of the sword wielding branches rush forward, dragging it's over-sized blade across the ground, intent on delivering and upward slash to her.

Riley deflected the blade with a defiant yell, batting it away and releasing the magic she'd gathered within.

An arcing blade of wind shot forward from her sword, slicing clean through Hashirama's own weapon. Riley had only intended to remove one of the weapons from the attack leaving further openings, however the end result was far more than she expected. The arc of wind traveled across the battlefield, straight for the towering forest beneath Hashirama's feat. By his side, Madara and Kushina had retreated, and all three saw the blade of wind pass beneath them cutting clean through the wooden structure and also severing all of Hashirama's attack tree limbs, near their base, causing his assault to cease.

All three individuals shared looks before they felt the structure begin to collapse.

They quickly jumped clear, and immediately turned their attention to Riley, whom hadn't gone on the offensive, and was instead staring down at her sword, the battle apparently forgotten.

Slowly the trio made their way over to her, the fight obviously over for now.

"What's wrong?" Kushina asked as she sheathed her swords. Her muscles were currently screaming out in pure agony. And she had to fight not to hobble. This duel had gone on for nearly five hours. Her Uzumaki endurance and vitality was the only reason she could still stand, let alone keep fighting.

Tobirama was quick to reappear approaching Riley as well.

"Somethings off." Riley answered as she ran a hand along the edges of the blade.

And something was indeed wrong. To those with sensing abilities like Tobirama, Hashirama, and Madara, they could all tell that something had changed about Riley's sword. It wasn't just the after-affects of her demonic power passing through it, this was far more potent. It almost felt like the sword was alive, and it's power was menacing indeed.

Tobirama and Hashirama could feel the malevolence radiating out from the blade, though Madara could actually see it with his **Rinnegan**. To his eyes, the sword was pure blackness. The energy within the blade was so thick and dark, that to Madara it looked like Riley was holding a rod of pure darkness in her hand, instead of a katana. Around the edges of the blackness, color swam, and it was a difficult thing to truly perceive. It almost looked like the different types of chakra were flowing into the blade, and ultimately being corrupted by it.

Madara's eyes slowly drifted back to the darkness itself, he found his eyes focusing on the pure darkness that swam at it's center, and after a moment he detected something deep within the blade. His eyes almost began to zoom into the darkness peering further into the black abyss of power. Deep within he could almost see what looked like light. As his gaze focused further, the light became more distinct, revealing itself to actually be ten different orbs of light. They all sat in formation. One in the center, and the remaining nine sitting in a circular formation around the central orb.

Each light was a different color, with the central one being a grayish black. There was one that was pure black, and distinctly familiar, though Madara didn't know where he'd felt it before. One was a blinding white, that radiated purity. One was a malevolent purplish-black. One was a crimson red, similar to the Nine Tails' Chakra in color but several shades darker. One was a powerful sky blue that seemed to radiate with control and kindness, it almost reminded him of Hashirama in a way. One was pure gray, radiating incredibly power. One was a deep oceans blue that was similar to Riley's eyes in her youth. One was orange, and glowed like fire. And the last one, was a blueish green, and was far more gentle then anything Madara had ever seen in relation to Riley.

All nine surrounding orbs radiated color, which seemed to be draining into the central grayish-black orb.

"Do you see that?" Madara inquired.

"I do." Riley replied, earning curious looks from those around. By now, Artoria, Shisui, Izuna, and Zabuza had limped over to see what was going on.

"What is it?" Hashirama asked, his gaze flickering between the two of them, sensing that they both could see something that the rest of them couldn't.

"I think the sword has gained it's inner soul, but it almost looks like it's drawing power from nine different magical sources." Madara explained.

"Yeah and the weirdest part… they all feel like me." Riley replied, having seen the same thing with her eyes as Madara did.

"What do you suppose that means?" Shisui inquired, limping up next to her, his gave dancing between Riley and the sword, which definitely felt different then how it had before.

"I don't know. I need to consult the scrolls that the Shinigami gave me, and learn how I go about contacting my swords spirit." Riley responded, as her tails slowly reached out, grabbing hold of her family.

She quickly removed them all from **Kamui**, taking them back to the hidden village. She offered them all her thanks for the training and left them in Hashirama's capable hands to heal their injuries and get them all up and running again. She then immediately returned to her pocket dimension, unsealing the scrolls she was given by the Shinigami, where she proceeded to go over their contents and learn how one was to go about speaking with the spirit in their sword.

Once she was certain she understood what was needed Riley began her attempts at the Jinzen process. Which was the method the Shinigami had developed to speak with their Zanpakutō spirits. Riley suspected she could use other methods to speak with her sword since she had the ability to enter into other people's minds, and even knew how to cross over bonds and enter a person's mindscape. For now though she'd use their method to avoid messing anything up. According to what was written within, she by placing the sword across her lap and entering a meditative state she could gain access to the sword's spirit and enter it's personal 'world' which sounded a lot like it's mindscape to Riley. Also written within was information that hinted towards this 'inner world' actually being the wielder's own mindscape, which would make this even easier if it was true.

She also paid close attention to the warning that the Zanpakutō spirit while not aggressive outright, would most likely refuse to offer her any of it's power until she proved herself in some way. This spirit would share many similarities with Riley but it would also be unique in it's own way. She would need to speak with it, and then pass whatever tests or challenges it had for her to unlock it's abilities, but her primary objective was to learn the Zanpakutō's name, for it's name held the ability to unlock it's full power.

If her sword has finally developed into a Zanpakutō, that meant that it was now in a sealed state. By working with it, and cooperating, she could unleash Shikai which was it's unsealed state, and by learning it's name, she could achieve Bankai, unleashing the sword's full power.

So with that in mind, Riley placed the sword across her lap and slipped into quiet meditation, reaching out for the sword, and drifting into her own mind.

The scrolls had warned that at first the Zanpakutō spirit would be hard to hear, and may only manifest in dreams, but given the uniqueness of Riley's situation, she didn't know what to expect.

When she opened her eyes, she found the vastness of her mindscape laid out before her. Nothing about it had changed, though she was in a place she rarely traveled to. She stood atop one of the towering mountains within her mind. Snow covered the nearby area in a pure white blanket that was dyed orange by the obscured setting sun in the distance.

Riley felt a presence nearby, turned her gaze, she found herself staring at an eerily familiar sight.

It looked almost like a dementor, hovering a few inches above the ground. A black shade, in a tattered black cloak. A hood pulled up, obscuring it's face, leaving nothing but a blackened void. From it's back, two black wings emerged, the wings were oily and disheveled, fire danced within the each feather. This thing was a mirrored image of Riley angelic persona, the Angel of Carnage, Ralael.

Riley blinked once, then again.

"I know you." Riley stated to the shade.

"_**You know yourself quite well."**_ Came a deep, radiating response that rattled the bones. Even it's voice, matched the one she had used for her disguise.

"You took the form of the Angel of Carnage. You became Ralael? Why?" Riley inquired with genuine curiosity.

"_**I am a part of you. You know this already. This is what your soul cries out for. What you deny yourself to often. I am death given form. Carnage, given shape. I am the end of life, for this world, and all those to come. **__**You ask me why I am Ralael, I ask you, why aren't you?" **_The Angelic presence responded.

Riley stared back blinking a few times.

"Ralael was a face. A disguise to hide myself, so that I could distract the world from my true intentions." Riley responded.

"_**And yet, you never used it as such. When you created Ralael, you intended it for a cover. Instead, you used it to indulge in slaughter, and revenge. You used it as an excuse to satiate your desires. Under the guise of judgment, you could slaughter to your heart's content. Yet… in the end you cast it aside. But nothing has changed. Your heart still calls out for bloodshed. Your desires, center around Carnage."**_ The Angel questioned her. Despite it's face being obscured from sight, Riley could almost feel it's judgmental gaze piercing through her.

"A good question. Things change. What you want, and what happens are two entirely different things. You aren't wrong. I still want to kill. I still do, when the mood strikes me. And I do miss the nightly slaughters. Blood and death are in my nature, I've never denied that. You ask me why I put it aside? The answer is obvious. For the same reason I spare this world. For them." Riley answered honestly.

"_**Yes. Them. Your heart and soul."**_ The Angel replied.

"So… what happens now? Do we fight? Do we talk? The Shinigami was quite vague about a lot of things, but I caught the hint that you were probably going to be different from other Zanpakutō spirits. So… what now?" Riley asked, slowly raising her sword and leveling it at the angel.

"_**Our battles will come. But not now. You must earn the right to challenge me. In order to do so… you must first begin down the path. I have much to teach you, by the end of my lessons you will know what my true power is. Only with that knowledge will you be able to learn my true name." **_The angel answered, drifting closer to her as it did.

"Alright, how do I go about learning your power?" Riley asked, lowering her sword.

"_**I will show you, parts of it. It is up to you though, to understand what it truly is. You have come here now, so I will give you your first test. You must appease all nine lights, for my name to hold any value. I am alone now, but when I am made whole, my power will be absolute. You have a long and arduous journey ahead, one you will never complete if you do not know my power. So… walk forward with an open mind, and embrace eternity!"**_ The Angel slowly drifted towards her as it spoke, raising a hand to her. It was just now that Riley noticed one difference between this angel and her past disguise, it's hand was skeletal, revealing gray bony fingers.

As it finished it's proclamation, a white light erupted out of it's palm consuming Riley and causing her to fall backwards. The actions seemed to take an eternity, but in reality must have passed in only a few moments, as her eyes snapped into focus and she realized that her surroundings had changed.

**-?-**

She was no longer within her mindscape, nor was she in **Kamui**. Instead she stood atop a small mountain, surrounded by thick forests below. Something about the view was incredibly familiar to her. A moment passed as she felt her senses finally focus and she took in the feeling of thousands of powerful magicals nearby.

Turning her gaze, her jaw fell open as her eyes beheld a ghostly sight.

Below her, surrounded by high stone walls, and thick forests, was the village Hidden in the Leaves, Konohagakure no Sato.

"_What in the fuck..."_ Riley muttered in disbelief.

-**To Be Continued-**

_**Alright here's the first half of this arc, next one is up at the same time, hope you all enjoy. See you in part II, Ja Ne!**_


	13. 13: To walk in a what-if

_**Alright here's the next chapter, I hope you all enjoyed the last, and this one too.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

Chapter 13: To walk in a what-if

-**Konohagakure no Sato-**

"**What in the seven hells did that fucking thing do?" **Kurama asked in dumbfounded amazement.

Riley tore her eyes away from the village and stared down at the blade in her hand.

"_This… is this another time? Am I in an illusion? Or is this the past? No… it can't be the past, this has to another timeline. It sent me across time and space to another time where Konoha still stands… but why?"_ Riley thought to herself, as she continued to stare into the eyes of her reflection in the blade.

"_**Go on… see what this world has to show you."**_ The angel spoke in Riley's mind.

Riley allowed a small sigh to escape her lips as she sheathed the blade. At the very least it looked like communicating with the sword would be as simple as talking with Kurama or the Darkness. Now though she had to figure out what it wanted from her. It had brought her here for a reason, so… best to figure out what it was.

Riley was quick to activate her **Byakugan** and scan the village. Her eyes were drawn in an incredible power coming from the Hokage tower, a power Riley was familiar with. Before advancing Riley hid her demonic features and transfigured her clothes into a hooded cloak so as not to draw too much attention.

Right before she advanced Kurama spoke up.

"**Remember, if you're right and this is another time, then these people did nothing to either of us. We both hate Konoha with a fiery passion, but for now, we should treat them as simple nobodies."** Kurama advised, earning a nod of agreement from Riley as she jumped forward. She felt herself pass through the barrier around Konoha, and the response she felt was immediate and surprising.

The power she was observing within the Hokage tower immediately appeared on the roof, as she descended down towards it. Her eyes were quick to lock onto Minato Namikaze as he conversed with a handful on Anbu sensors. The Hokage was probably alerted the instant she passed through the barrier, but he didn't know where she was.

One of the Anbu sensors quickly spotted her, and pointed up at her, causing the Hokage to turn his gaze up to her as well.

Riley used magic to slow her descent coming to a gentle landing on the railing of the Hokage Tower rooftop.

"Narumi? No… somethings wrong..." Minato stated as he slowly approached her.

Riley eyed him curiously, doing what she could to keep her rage towards the man, in check. Kurama had been right, this Minato hadn't done anything to her. He wasn't her Minato.

"What happened to your **Rinnegan?**" Minato asked, noticing the tomoe and floral pattern in her eyes due to the **Rinne-Sharingan**, and the presence of the **Tenseigan**, that showed with her use of the **Byakugan.**

"You know me? And you know that I have the **Rinnegan?**" Riley inquired.

"Of course I know you… I'm not sure what your… wait… you're not my Narumi are you?" Minato asked, his eyes focused as he scanned her appearance.

"You're right, I'm not. But how could you know that?" Riley inquired kneeling down on the bars as she did.

"I've encountered something like this a long time ago. Before you were born actually. You're from another time aren't you?" Minato inquired.

"I am. I think. If you know me, then where am I?" Riley inquired, curious to hear his answer.

"On a mission. You should be back soon..." Minato responded, sounding a bit uncertain. Slowly he turned his gaze to one of his men and ordered him to call off the alert, before turning back to her. "We should talk."

"Talk? Alright." Riley responded with a shrug, deactivating her **Byakugan**.

Minato obviously saw the effects as the veins around her eyes receded, and the floral pattern within her eyes vanished and her white pupils returned to black.

Three of the five Anbu quickly vanished from sight, but Riley could still easily detect them nearby watching from the shadows. The remaining two fell into step behind her as she followed after Minato whom led her into the Hokage tower.

While on the outside, Riley channeled her own natural aloof attitude quite perfectly, on the inside she was like a curious child in a candy store. Everything about this Konoha and Minato felt different from hers. The village itself, while still containing it's dark spots, felt brighter then she'd ever felt it. Minato himself felt lighter, less burdened in his step. There was a softness to his gaze, and a general lack of arrogance. He seemed lighter, happier even. Even now when faced with an incredible unknown and surprise occurrence such as this, he was relatively at peace. Calm even.

Even his guards while eyeing her with suspicion beneath their masks, were not sending any overly negative vibes her way. They seemed more concerned with the safety of the Hokage, then the threat of an unknown like Riley.

"**This is weird."** Kurama noted, earning a hum of agreement from Riley as they made it to the Hokage's office.

The two Anbu remained outside of the door as Minato led her in. Instead of circling his desk and taking a seat, he instead stopped in the center of the room, turned to face her, and crossed his arms. His face contained a myriad of emotions, but he didn't appear as if hostility had any place in his mind. There was definite concern but it was obvious that he didn't see her as a threat, which was of great curiosity to Riley.

"Alright, so… whats wrong?" Minato asked.

"Wrong?" Riley parroted back, confused.

"Yes. Time displacement such as this, doesn't occur unless something is wrong. The last time I dealt with this, a mad shinobi from the future came back in time to try and conquer a distant kingdom. I met someone else from the future who was there to try and stop him. I don't remember him very well, but I think he was a possibility of mine. When all was said and done, I warred with the idea of sealing my memories away so as to reduce the risk of change to the future. Eventually I decided against, settling on the idea that the future had already been changed, so there really wasn't any point to it. So what I'm asking is why are you here? What caused you to be here?" Minato explained, finishing with a reiteration of his prior question.

"_Huh. I never knew that about him. I can't say for certain if that was something that is different from my time. If this is another timeline then there has to be a diverging point somewhere, but considering he still has a daughter named Narumi, and yet he met a young man he thought might have been his son, maybe that wasn't a change._" Riley thought to herself.

"Well… you can rest easy. Nothing is wrong as far as I know. I'm actually here on a personal quest of understanding. In short I have a magical sword that brought me here so I can learn something. So… you don't have to worry about anything going wrong. As far as I know there is no danger, or anything like that." Riley replied, offering the man a shrug.

"I see. You say your sword brought you here to learn something. Do you have any idea what that could be?" Minato inquired with genuine curiosity.

"Not a damn clue." Riley responded, causing Minato deadpan.

"_You know something, he's not so bad when he's not acting like a holier-than-thou prick._" Riley thought to herself as Minato let out a chuckle and scratched his head.

"So… tell me what's different. You still have two daughters?" Riley asked, curious about herself, Naruko, as well as Kushina and Lily.

"Oh um, yes. You and Naruko." Minato responded, as he took a few steps over to his desk and leaned against it, relaxing a bit.

"And… what about my mother?" Riley inquired after a quiet moment.

"I'm guessing with the way you emphasized 'mother' that this might be something our two times don't share." Minato noted.

"_Shit, could that mean that I'm not Kushina's daughter in this timeline? Or maybe I never learned that. Or maybe I'm Kushina's daughter but not Lily's. Multiverse is a bitch."_ Riley thought to herself.

"Well in my timeline you got into a drunken threesome with Lily Evans and Kushina Uzumaki, so you tell me if that's different." Riley put him on the spot, covering up the darker ramifications from the event, and withholding judgment, despite her desire to lash out at the man, she had to remind herself that this Minato wasn't her Minato and she had no clue what his crimes were, or what he had done to atone for them.

Minato's eyes went wide at that and he blushed, turning away and scratching his head as he let out a nervous laugh.

"You uh… knew about that?" Minato inquired.

"So it happened here?" Riley inquired, her eyes narrowing. He wasn't ashamed of it, like he obviously had been in her timeline, this Minato was more the regular old embarrassed, probably because it was coming from his eldest daughter.

"Yes. It happened. Look, if you would please don't tell my Narumi. After she was born, Lily magically adopted her, and we just told everyone that they were twins." Minato offered as an explanation.

"And what about Kushina?" Riley inquired, noting that Minato did say 'after' Narumi was born, she was adopted, not before. And she didn't detect any deception from him either.

"Well Kushina was around. Of course given the political ramifications if anyone knew, we kept the truth a secret but Kushina was always there, we wrote it off as her being the midwife, and designated babysitter, and we'd always been good friends, so it was easy to just pretend like nothing happened. Kushina treated both of my girls like her daughters and did what she could to raise them. In all honesty, Lily and I couldn't have asked for a better friend. It was a stupid thing that we did when we were young and it could have caused a major headache, but we made it through. My girls are happy with their mom and auntie Kushina, and I couldn't be happier about it." Minato explained, enrapturing Riley with what could have been.

"So, I ask again if you could please keep this to yourself. My Narumi doesn't know yet. We planned on telling her when she turned Eighteen. I know it's gonna start a firestorm, but she deserves to know, just… not yet." Minato pleaded once more, earning a slow, thoughtful nod from Riley.

"It's alright. So long as she has her mother in her life, a happy lie is alright. Just be sure to tell her the truth one day. She deserves to know." Riley replied, earning a sad smile from Minato.

"She does. I'm assuming I never told you the truth?" Minato guessed, analyzing her reaction.

"No. Danzo told me before I killed him." Riley responded, causing Minato's gaze to harden. For a moment, Riley expected him to react with aggression, instead he slowly nodded and ran a hand over his face.

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to learn that from someone like Danzo, and it shouldn't have fallen on you to kill him. He's a troublesome man, and he walks a dangerous path. I'm just sorry it had to be you to clean up that mess. He's a relic of a bygone era. Something the older generation should be responsible for dealing with. It shouldn't have fallen on you to handle him." Minato stated to her, again taking Riley by surprise by how calmly and kindly he accepted her answer.

"Well… don't worry about it. Danzo was responsible for the death of someone I cared very deeply for. Killing him was quite cathartic, though it you're looking for a reason to get rid of him, just tell me two things, did the Uchiha clan get wiped out, and does he still have his eye and arm wrapped up?" Riley replied, earning a hard look from Minato.

"Yes. To both." Minato replied.

"Well then, how about grave-robbing and murder as a reason to deal with him? When I fought him, he had a genetically replicated arm, he gained from Orochimaru, made from the First Hokage's cells. In that arm he had ten eyes of the Uchiha clan, each with a **Sharingan**, embedded within. Bandaged in his own eye is actually the eye of Shisui Uchiha. Word from the wise, have a sensor who knew Shisui's chakra, check out Danzo's head, they may see something familiar. If I'm right, and you go after him, a word of warning, he can utilize the ten **Sharingan** eyes on his arm to activate the Uchiha forbidden Technique, **Izanagi**. It allows him to turn reality into an illusion for a few short moments, allowing him to rewrite his own death upwards to ten times." Riley explained to him, earning a slow nod from Minato.

"I hate to ask, but would you be able to recognize Shisui's chakra?" Minato inquired.

"I would. And before you go about worrying yourself, I'll happily kill him another eleven times, if you'll let me. I found it quite relaxing the last time. Therapeutic even." Riley answered, earning a slightly unnerved look from the Fourth Hokage. He probably wasn't used to his eldest daughter acting so bloodthirsty and vicious.

Before the conversation could continue, a knock was heard at the door.

"Come in." Minato called out.

A moment later his secretary entered the room. "My lord, your daughter and her squad have returned from their mission. The elders have called a meeting to hear her report."

"Eh… How troublesome." Minato sighed.

"I'm guessing her mission was quite important?" Riley stated with a smirk.

"Well yes, but also given her status as a hero, and the rumors that I've been grooming her to take my position as Hokage one day, well the council sees it as their responsibility to over analyze everything she does, to make sure she's displaying the proper foresight and ability when it comes to important matters for the village. They're just being paranoid. I remember when the Third Hokage began training me to take on this job, I was stuck standing before the council for even things like A-Rank missions. It can get a bit annoying at times." Minato responded with a sigh.

"Will Danzo be there?" Riley inquired.

"Yes." Minato responded.

"Than I'll come along, hide in plain sight and see for myself if he's still the same murdering bastard I know him to be." Riley replied, as small branches grew from her palm, growing together and shaping into a white mask, similar in shape to an ANBU mask. The only difference was that it had no animal designs or paint. It was simply a pure white mask, with two eye holes to see through.

Riley offered the fourth a smirk as she placed the mask over her face. With her hood up, she could easily pass as a member of ANBU black ops.

After a moment of thought, Minato offered a nod. Security risks aside, this was an opportunity to get information on Danzo. If the gods were granting him this favor by sending another version of his daughter to aid in dealing with the eternal thorn in his side, then he wasn't going to waste the chance.

"**Oh this is exciting. The opportunity to slaughter that urchin once again. Hey maybe we should get into the habit of timeline hopping and just go on a murder spree, killing Danzos wherever we can find them. Come on, it'd be fun. Think about it, not only do we get to keep killing him, but each one will use the Izanagi to revive himself so we get to kill him eleven times in a row! That's a good time right there."** Kurama offered with excitement, earning an internal chuckle from Riley.

"_That, I might just look into. Fucking bastard."_ Riley thought back as the Fourth led her to the council chambers.

They arrived and Riley immediately settled into a back corner out of sight, moving so quickly that the fourth Hokage actually paused to stare at where she'd been, obviously stunned by her speed, and the silence of her movement. A quick scan of the room, revealed her position to him, but he didn't allow his gaze to linger for very long, so as not to draw too much attention as the various councilors and clan leaders filtered into the room.

"_Hmm… so this is what it would have been like had I stayed. The old man and I working together to take on creeps like Danzo. Man if only my Minato wasn't such a prick..."_ Riley thought to herself as everyone settled in.

Her eyes quickly locked onto Danzo when he stalked into the room. With her eyes she could see clear as day Shisui's chakra radiating from Danzo's bandaged eye. She could also see Hashirama's chakra dancing through the suppressing mechanism on his arm. It was highly contained, only someone who could see chakra like she could, and recognized the First Hokage's power, would have noticed it.

A few moments after everyone settled into their seats, Narumi Namikaze was escorted into the room.

Riley's eyes quickly fell onto her counterpart. The first thing Riley noticed was that Narumi was not a demon. She had powerful demonic Youki flowing within her, but she wasn't a full demon, meaning that the seal had still been damaged long ago, and she'd still absorbed parts of Kurama's soul. A quicker analysis revealed the absence of Kurama's soul or the seal that contained it. Meaning the soul have been removed, probably by Minato, and either resealed into someone else, or maybe placed within Naruko, reuniting both halves.

Narumi herself was young, sixteen or seventeen. She was above average height for a woman of her age, though not nearly as tall as Riley presented herself as when she was that old. Due to being only a half demon, Narumi grew naturally and had no control over how her body looked. So in truth, this is actually closer to what Riley should look like, rather then how she decided to look. As a full demon, Riley had adjusted her physical appearance so as to further impress her mates. Her beauty was more for them then Riley herself. Narumi was far less eye catching then Riley was, but that was by no means a detraction from Narumi's own beauty. While Riley held an otherworldly beauty due to her demonic nature, Narumi was more of a natural beauty. She was pretty. Decently chesty, with round hips and a firm rear. Her reddish-black hair went down to the middle of her back, and was tied off in a pony-tail. She allowed long bangs to frame her face, and a bit of hair covered her left eye, similar to how Riley styled her own bangs, albeit a bit shorter.

The **Rinnegan**, was present within Narumi's eyes, shining with incredible power. Despite not being a full demon, the presence of the **Rinnegan**, and Narumi's half demon blood, made her incredibly powerful. Much stronger then anyone else in the room. Definitely above Kage level, in terms of her raw power, just like how Riley appeared before she had started to become a full demon.

The pale skinned Narumi held a prideful smirk to her, and just from the way she held herself, Riley could tell that the spirit of Madara was strong within her. She almost reminded Riley of how Naruko was when she was younger, overly prideful, arrogant perhaps, but with more of Madara's tendencies than anyone elses.

It didn't take long for the smirk to falter as Narumi's **Rinnegan** eyes found their way to Riley.

She could obviously detect the unknown individual, and when their eyes met, Riley couldn't hide the smirk on her face, when her incredibly powerful alternate self tensed with a bit of fear and uncertainty.

Narumi eyed her counterpart for several long seconds, her eyes glued onto the malevolent and twisted blackness that radiated out from Riley's body. She quickly sent a worried glance to her father, hoping that he recognized this presence as well. When she locked eyes with the fourth he held up a hand and offered her a relaxing smile.

Narumi allowed herself to settle at that. If her father already knew about this person and wasn't worried at the moment, then she could calm down as well.

"Lady Narumi. Welcome back. We understand your mission was a complete success." Elder Utatane stated, beginning the meeting.

"It was, lady Utatane. I've received the alliance agreement with Kumogakure, as well as word from the Raikage himself expressing hope for a beneficial and long term allegiance between our villages. He also expressed his desire to meet with Lord Hokage in person for the next meeting." Narumi responded, producing a small set of scrolls which were handed off to one of the Hokage's assistants and brought to him.

"So by your understanding, the meeting went well?" Minato inquired as he took the scrolls and set them off to the side.

"I would say so yes. With the defeat of the Akatsuki and the return of the Two-Tails to Kumogakure, I think they're ready and willing to put the past behind them, and join with us in building a better world." Narumi replied with a hopeful smile.

While the discussion continued on, Riley eyed the various observers in the room. Watching how they all reacted to her counterpart. Many smiles were had from both the civilian and shinobi sides. Master Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade both offered the girl proud smirks. Lily sat in the Namikaze seat, and beamed at her adoptive daughter, while Kushina mirrored her reaction from the Uzumaki seat.

Itachi held a pleasant smile from his place in the Uchiha seat. Though Riley did notice the absence of the brotherly affection her Itachi would show. Which led Riley to guess that in this timeline she never left home, and thus never met and received training from Itachi and Shisui. Meaning that neither man was like a brother to her in this timeline.

All in all, this place seamed to have it's ups and downs. A lot more ups, than downs, but still. It did kind of sadden Riley to know that her alternate self didn't have those bonds.

As Riley continued to scan the crowd her eyes fell onto Danzo. Slowly she took in the presence of Shisui's chakra from his stolen eye, and she felt her anger begin to swell, the longer she focused on it.

Shisui's eye. The eyes of so many Uchiha. The First Hokage's cells. Danzo was a grave-robbing little bastard, and the longer Riley stared at him, the more her killing intent grew.

Certain individuals within the crowd started to notice the growing anger that radiated off of the masked figure in the corner. Minato's eyes quickly snapped to her, as did the Third Hokage, the Sannin, Itachi, and Narumi.

All of them stared at her, though only Minato understood the significance behind her anger. His eyes quickly narrowed as they shot to Danzo whom had also picked up on the Killing Intent aimed directly at him.

"Do I know you?" Danzo asked aloud, directing his question at Riley.

In a burst of speed no one could follow, Riley appeared in the center of the room, standing before the entire council.

"Danzo Shimura. You murdered Shisui Uchiha. That's his chakra I see in that skull of yours." Riley growled out.

Silence permeated the room, as everyone stared at her. After several seconds her words settled in. The reaction from Itachi was almost instant, his **Sharingan**, activating as he leveled a glare at the Elder.

"Danzo, is this true!" Hiruzen Sarutobi demanded, leveling his own dark look at his old friend and teammate.

"Of course not! How dare this nobody make such an accusation." Danzo replied.

"Then you wont mind if I tear off those bandages and show everyone what you're hiding." Riley replied.

"How dare you threaten me. I am a village elder. Who are you to make such threats?" Danzo responded, rising to his feet.

The instant he reached full stance, Riley was on him. In a burst of speed, not even Itachi could follow, Riley rocketed off the ground, seized Danzo by the throat, carried him over the heads of those who sat behind him, and slammed him into the back wall with so much force, the wall itself buckled and cracked.

Blood erupted from Danzo's mouth as his throat was crushed.

"_Only one way out of this you bastard. Show everyone what you've got!"_ Riley growled internally, as she heard the limiter mechanism on Danzo's arm, unlock.

Riley quickly turned and tossed the Elder back down to the center of the room. His body slammed into the ground, leaving a crater not far from where Narumi stood, her eyes wide in disbelief.

Riley quickly followed, landing in the center of the room, she was immediately surrounding by Leaf ANBU, with weapons drawn, and Narumi quickly raced between her and Danzo, leveling a glare at the demoness, and falling into a fighting stance that was reminiscent of Minato's.

"Itachi… tell me if this is familiar." Riley called out.

Silence filled the room, as Danzo's body disappeared from sight.

Genjutsu, was the first thought on everyone's mind, as Danzo reappeared behind Riley and placed a blade to her throat.

"Do not think me some child who can be brought down so easily by something so barbarically simple." Danzo hissed.

"ANBU, arrest that traitor!" Elder Homura demanded, rising to his feet.

"No! Stand down!" Narumi shouted, leveling a glare at Danzo.

"So I was right, you were trained by him too." Riley noted with a smirk as killing intent rolled off of Narumi Namikaze, directed right at Danzo.

"That move. It wasn't any ordinary genjutsu. That was an Uchiha forbidden technique!" Narumi hissed.

"Yes. It was. A sacrificial Uchiha technique. One that requires a working **Sharingan** in order to cast. How did you acquire such a thing, Danzo?" Itachi demanded, rising from his seat, his **Sharingan** morphing into the **Mangekyou,** as he did.

Danzo was silent for several moments as understanding settled in. He didn't need to see Riley's face to know she was smirking. That had been her goal from the start, force him to reveal the **Izanagi** to those in the room. But that meant that she not only knew about Shisui's eye, but all of the eyes embedded in his arm.

Such a thing was surely impossible, and yet, here it was. Who was she? How had she known these things?

"Lord Hokage… if you would please, allow me to kill him. It was so much fun the first time, I wouldn't mind another round." Riley asked, her eyes still locked with her counterparts.

Minato was silent for several moments, as he slowly rose to his feet. "You have two choices laid out before you Danzo. You either remove those bandages and show us the truth, or I accept what the Uchiha clan leader and my daughter have said, and declare you guilty of murdering Shisui Uchiha. What'll it be?"

Danzo was silent for a few seconds as he thought of a way out of this. Riley's smirk grew as she felt the fear within him grow.

Suddenly she felt the blade at her throat press hard against her flesh, and Danzo sharply drew it across her neck. Gasps were heard as Danzo tried to shove her forward into Narumi, expecting her limp body to distract the Namikaze heir long enough for Danzo to try and escape.

That did not happen. Hardening the flesh beneath his blade, Danzo's pitiful attempt didn't even draw blood. When he tried to shove her forward all he managed to do was push himself back a foot or two as she remained anchored to the ground.

Slowly, Riley turned to him, raising her head up just a bit so that he could see her exposed neck, and the absence of any cut, blood, or mark.

"Alright, no permission needed now. This makes it self-defense." Riley growled as her eyes bled red, shining through from beneath the darkness of her mask.

Danzo was obviously able to see her eyes as they began to glow beneath her mask. The **Rinne Sharingan**, was enough to cause his stomach to drop, his eyes flickering between it and Narumi's **Rinnegan.**

"Let's take this outside, shall we." Riley stated with excitement as she shot forward, seizing Danzo by his shirt and lifting him up into the air.

Using her **Intangibility **and speed Riley was able to near instantly fly the two of them to one of the nearby training yards. Once there, she dropped the man, allowing him a moment to gain his bearings. She was definitely going to enjoy watching him struggle once again.

"Who are you?" Danzo demanded.

"A friend of Shisui." Riley answered, before vanishing from sight.

It took only about a minute for the Fourth Hokage, the Sannin, Narumi, several teams of ANBU, the Third Hokage, and Itachi to arrive at the training field. By the time they got there, they found that it was already visibly damaged, Danzo's hidden arm was revealed, unveiling the Ten **Sharingan**, embedded into it, and four of the ten eyes were closed.

"Minato, what the hell is that?" Jiraiya asked, when he spotted the arm.

"An abomination." Minato answered as he motioned for the ANBU to spread out and keep Danzo from escaping while also keeping their eyes out for ROOT.

A few moments later, another team of ANBU arrived, along with Kushina, Hiashi Hyuuga, and Shikaku Nara.

Right as they arrived, Riley reappeared in front of Danzo, sword in hand, she delivered a downward slash, that Danzo avoided by jumping back. Right as the sword lowered to the ground, Danzo leaped forward, intent on jumping over Riley and landing behind her.

Riley countered his move by allowing the momentum of her downward slash, to carry her forward into a front flip. As she flipped forward, a blackened bone erupted from the bottom of her foot, extending out just far enough to reach Danzo.

Both of their movements allowed the bone to pierce his body and cut him from the top of his sternum to his groin.

Riley landed from the tumble, retracting the bone into her flesh while Danzo collapsed into a heap. Blood and organs spilled out of his body, while Riley simply let out a chuckle.

By the time she turned around, his body had faded from sight, and he reappeared a few feet away.

"God I love this." Riley stated with a smirk as she turned her gaze to him.

Danzo quickly jumped away from her, retreating into the nearby forest. Those observing quickly moved to follow him, as Riley vanished as well. Before they could begin to move, an ear splitting crack was heard and the vague outline of Danzo's body erupted from the foliage, careening violently through the air at supersonic speeds. When it hit the ground, it exploded, shredding apart into a violent blast of gore that tore through the air.

The display was more gruesome a death than most of them had ever seen. The visceral carnage of it, made even seasoned warriors cringe.

Before the pieces of gore could settle onto the ground, they vanished from sight, Danzo reappearing where he'd been a moment ago, his uncovered eye, wide and quivering in disbelief.

"How? How are you fast?" Danzo demanded turning around just in time to for Riley to slam her palm into his mouth. Right as flesh met flesh, a bone erupted from her palm, spearing the old shinobi through his mouth and out the back of his head.

With a sickening jerk of her arm, Riley tore the top half of his head away from his lower jaw, sending blood and teeth raining through the air.

Riley smirked as his body vanished from sight. She turned around just as he reappeared and jumped away from her. Now the old man was frightened, and he was starting to get desperate.

Now seven of the ten eyes were closed. Danzo was starting to run out of options.

The old ninja quickly began to speed through handsigns.

"**Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!"** Danzo shouted out, taking a deep breath and releasing a hail of wind blasts right at her.

"**Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique."** Riley countered, sending a blast of fire at Danzo, which quickly burst into a dozen smaller fireballs, that raced at the old ninja from different directions.

Riley was quick enough to get the technique out right as Danzo finished with his. The oncoming fireballs obstructed his view of Riley, allowing her to vanish in a burst of speed, while he was forced to dodge her incoming attacks.

Danzo jumped high and landed several meters away from the rush of fire, avoiding them, but just as his feet hit the ground, the ominous sound of chirping birds filled the air.

Danzo recognized the noise and turned just in time for Riley's lightning covered hand to pierce his chest.

"**Chidori: Blast!"** Riley snarled as her attack pierced Danzo's body. The end result was the lightning on Riley's hand erupting outward, exploding through Danzo's body, blowing his body in half.

Riley grinned from ear to ear, as his body faded for the eighth time.

Again she began to move through handsigns, spinning on her heel to avoid a handful of kunai sent her way, she quickly inhaled, shaping magic within her, _**"Lightning Style: Offensive Bolt!"**_ Echoed in her mind, and she moved her mask free of her mouth and spit forth a single bolt of lightning.

A loud crack split the air, as the bolt shot forward piercing through Danzo's stomach, and exploding out the back of him.

Danzo dropped to a knee, cursing as he activated **Izanagi **for the ninth time.

When he reappeared he immediately used the **Shadow Clone Jutsu** to create three clones. He utilized the burst of smoke to slip out of sight, hoping to trick her for a moment long enough for him to slip away.

The three clones rushed at her, earning a devilish grin from Riley.

She answered his attack by sending four kunai towards the trio of clones. Three of the kunai were aimed at said clones, and were easily deflected by them, while the fourth sailed past them, into the forest. It landed just past where Danzo was hiding, waiting for his opportunity to try and slip away.

He glanced at the kunai, and his eyes widened in horror when he noticed that it was a tri-pronged kunai with crimson wrapping around the handle, similar in design to the Fourth Hokage's signature weapons.

In a blackish-red flash of light, Riley appeared at the kunai, her gaze instantly on Danzo.

No words could describe the look in her eyes. The joy she was experiencing at torturing him like this. Never in the old ninja's life had he encountered such malice, it was simply not human.

He tried to retreat away from her, but she instantly closed the gap between the two of them, taking him by the throat and breaking it an instant later.

When Danzo reappeared in the field for the final time, he was near broken. She had defeated him ten times in row, and never once had she shown any signs of worry or even a great deal of focus. This was all a game to her. He wasn't a threat. He was little more then a plaything for this woman. His pride was shattered, she had bested him so easily, and now she stood over him, a dark gleam in her eyes.

"I wont let you win so easily!" Danzo declared, as he ripped his robes open and began activating the seal on his chest.

A burning pain shot through his body, as Riley slammed a palm into his chest. Seal characters danced off of her hand and across his chest.

With a chuckle and a handsign, the flesh on his chest, and stomach, from shoulder to shoulder, and sternum to stomach, ripped free and burned away in red flames.

Danzo screamed out in agony, his pectoral, and abdominal muscles were visible to the naked eye.

"Nifty little technique isn't it. A special sacrificial sealing jutsu I designed. It allows the user to remove a seal from a person's body, the only requirement is that it takes all of the flesh the seal is tied to. It's a pretty twisted technique, I couldn't get it to work using normal magic so I had to find a workaround. In the end I was able to get it working with cursed magic. Of course this means that any wounds the seal makes, can't be healed with normal healing magics, meaning this seal is purely offensive, I can't use it on an ally or anything." Riley explained as she slowly circled the man. The pain he was experiencing must have beyond imagining as his exposed nerves reacted to the open air.

Slowly, Danzo's gaze fell to his exposed muscles, hanging freely from his musculature, were what looked like small blood vessels, and even his own nerves.

"As you can see, the technique is rarely fatal as it only takes the skin, it leaves things behind like blood vessels and nerves. I call it, '**Cursed Sealing Technique: Cursed Demons' Sacrament of Flesh'.**" Riley offered to the man.

"What are you?" Danzo demanded as he raised his gaze to her.

A scream erupted from Danzo's mouth as a pain tore through right eye. He felt the bandages fall free, and blood began to pour down his cheek. His hand shot up to the eye, only for his fingers to brush against bleeding bones, and flesh. Through great pain, he was able to lift his gaze to Riley. One of her hands had blood dripping between the fingers. She held up said hand, and with her other pulled something up from it, gently, almost delicately.

Danzo could see Shisui's eye in her grasp. He tried to reach out for it, but an unknown force slammed him into the ground.

A few seconds later, he heard the remnants of his eyes socket, dropped to the ground. There, cradled in Riley's hand was Shisui's eye. She stared down at it for several long moments before removing a scroll from her robes, and sealing Shisui's eye within it.

She then turned her gaze down to Danzo.

A growl tore free from his lips as her red eyes bore down at him.

With a devilish smirk, a black chakra receiver emerged from her palm. She brought it down violently onto Danzo's midsection, piercing him through the back, and through one of his lungs, suppressing his chakra and pinning him to the ground.

"Good bye Danzo. It was fun." Riley taunted she unveiled her wand, and cast **Incendio**, on his body.

Danzo's screams tore out through the air, as he burned. Riley stared down at him, mercilessly taking in his demise. She offered the man no respite, and no way out. The last time she'd killed him, it had to be done quickly to stop him from using the seal he had on his body. This time around she was going to cherish his screams.

Riley stood over his body for several minutes, minutes that were far too short for her liking. She basked in the sense of his death, and waited until the moment she felt his withered old soul leave his body. As soon as she felt it, she quickly drew it in.

"_Kurama… do me favor, when we get back home, remind me to take his soul and give it to Skorge. I want to hear a song, born of his eternal suffering."_ Riley thought to herself, happy to have Danzo's soul once more. Unfortunately, she had lost her Danzo to the Shinigami, but this Danzo she intended to keep, and torture until the end of time.

"**Will do kit." **Kurama replied with a vicious smirk, both of them also hearing a dark chuckle of approval from the Darkness as well.

"Is he dead?" Minato asked, stepping up to her.

"Yeah. He's dead." Riley replied, turning to face him.

"I'm sensing you had quite the history with Danzo." Hiruzen Sarutobi noted, stepping up to the two of them, along with the rest of the observers.

"He murdered my first real friend. A man who like a brother to me." Riley replied.

"You knew Shisui well?" Came the question from Itachi, his gaze filled with curiosity.

"I did. Just not your Shisui." Riley answered tossing him the scroll that contained Shisui's eye.

Itachi caught the scroll and glanced at it, knowing what it contained.

"Thank you. I'll see that his remains are properly laid to rest." Itachi informed her.

"Good to hear." Riley replied.

"Well I think we owe them an explanation." Minato expressed as he noticed the confused and concerned looks everyone was giving her.

"Fine by me. I have no problems with it." Riley answered, removing her mask, earning gasps from all those around her.

"Narumi…?" Kushina gasped, dumbfounded, her eyes dancing between Narumi and Riley.

"I'm not your Narumi, I'm from an alternate time." Riley replied holding up her hands.

"From another time? You're me from another time?" Narumi asked stepping up to her. It was quite funny to note the height difference between the two. Narumi was about five foot, eight inches. Tall for a woman, but not nearly as tall as Riley who stood at six foot even. Riley was also noticeably more buxom than Narumi was, though again, that was by choice rather than it being natural. Narumi was actually a closer approximation to what Riley should look like, if she had grown naturally instead of controlling how she looked.

Many of Riley's demonic features were hidden, so the only real difference in their faces were their eyes, **Rinnegan** eyes staring into the **Rinne-Sharingan. **For the first time since obtaining the eyes of god, Narumi actually felt small staring into the eyes of her alternate self.

"Why don't we go to my house, we can have her explain everything there. Itachi, I'll leave the dealing of Shisui's remains to you. Shikaku, I'll leave Danzo's remains to you. Please see to it they are properly erased. And more importantly, I want you to begin planning for how we'll deal with ROOT. Now that Danzo is dead, I'm not going to risk them operating independently any longer." Minato ordered, earning nods from both men.

Not long after, the group made their way to Minato's clan compound, which was really just a walled off house, though interestingly, two additional buildings were being constructed within it. If Riley had to guess, Minato was having a separate house built for both of his daughters, allowing them to 'move out' when they turned eighteen but they'd still be living basically at home.

Naruko, and Lily were collected on the way, and informed about their visitor. Now Riley stood before Minato, Lily, Kushina, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Hiruzen, Naruko, and Narumi.

"So you're my sister from another timeline?" Naruko asked, her eyes also sporting the **Rinnegan**, and her hair also darkened revealing that the seal on her genetics had lifted or been removed. Oddly enough the one on Minato was also removed, but he still had his blonde hair, and blue eyes. Riley suspected some sort of ruse, perhaps contacts, and hair dye to keep him from looking like an Uchiha. It was obvious he hadn't awakened the **Rinnegan** yet but that didn't mean he hadn't managed to activate his **Sharingan**. Having his seal removed would explain why this Minato felt stronger than hers.

Riley took a moment to think on the question, before finally giving her alternate self's younger sister a superior smirk. "Yep."

Naruko stared back, eyes filled with fascination. She eyed Riley up and down, taking in how much taller Riley was than her. Little had changed about Naruko, she still acted much the same, and she looked like a mirror image of Riley's version.

"How did you get here?" Jiraiya inquired.

"My magic sword." Riley answered, gesturing to the sheathed blade, held up by her 'belt' which was actually all ten of her tails coiled around each other and wrapped around her waist.

"You have a magic sword that let's you go through time?" Narumi asked, dumbfounded by that.

"I guess. Technically it's a Zanpakutō. A living sword. The spirit within the blade sent me here so I could learn something. If I had to guess, this is a journey of self discovery or something like that. I'm not really sure, I came here kinda suddenly." Riley answered, finishing with an honest shrug.

"Wow." Was Tsunade's response to that.

"So… does that mean you're older than me?" Narumi inquired.

"Yeah. I'm a lot older than you." Riley responded, deadpanning.

"Wow… so you're gonna grow up into a babe." Naruko teased, elbowing her sister with a smirk, earning a blush from Narumi.

"And a giant." Tsunade added, teasingly, causing Narumi to drop her head to hide her face behind her bangs.

"_Damn, how long has it been since I was shy like that?_" Riley thought to herself.

"**The last time you were ever like that was when you first started dating Fleur. Of course having a pretty little bird like that, fawning all over you, really did wonders for your self confidence.**" Kurama noted, earning a hum of agreement from Riley.

"So what's up with your eyes? Is that like a new form of the **Rinnegan**?" Naruko inquired while Narumi was busy being embarrassed.

"No, actually it's the stage above the **Rinnegan**. It has a few different titles, the tailed beasts call it by different names. **Juubigan**, **Sharinnegan**, but I just call it the **Rinne-Sharingan**. It has all of the powers of the **Rinnegan** plus all of the powers of the **Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan**." Riley answered, earning dumbstruck looks from those surrounding her. Even Minato had his jaw hanging open at the implication of eyes with both sets of powers.

"Wow! How did you activate them?" Narumi and Naruko asked, simultaneously.

"_Wow they really act like twins in this timeline._" Riley thought to herself.

"I wouldn't worry about activating them. I only achieved the awakening of these eyes with an immense amount of magic, and by fusing two sets of compatible **Rinnegans** together. So unless one of you wants to take the others eyes, I doubt you'd ever push your eyes to this level." Riley answered. While her response did dampen their spirits a bit, that did leave them wondering who's eyes she had used to awaken these ones.

It was Jiraiya who asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "So who's eyes did you use?"

"Mine and my grandfathers." Riley responded honestly.

Her reply caused silence to permeate the room. It was Narumi who quietly inquired, "So you can here him too?"

"I could. When I was younger he helped raise. Taught me a lot about being a warrior. Taught me about our eyes and our clan. He was one of the best things I had growing up. When I lost Shisui to Danzo's machination, I awakened the **Mangekyou Sharingan**. It was grandfather Madara who taught me how to get into contact and summon Zetsu. He helped me retrieve Madara's original eyes from when he was young. I used them and was compatible with them, awakening the **Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.** Fast forward a few years and I reawakened the **Rinnegan.** I kept my original eyes sealed on my person at all times, and one day, after a certain event, I fused both sets of eyes together, creating these. My permanent eyes. The **Rinne-Sharingan**." Riley explained to them, earning a small smile from Narumi, whom obviously shared her affection for the omnipresent voice in her head.

"What did you mean by, you 'could' hear him?" Minato asked.

"Oh, don't worry. He's not gone. I just found a way to give him back his body, so he could live free of me. He was resurrected by the Akatsuki, using the Second Hokage's **Reanimation** **Jutsu.** After I freed him from their control, I was able to place the part of his soul in me, back into the reanimation and then I used **Rinne Rebirth** to bring him back to life. Since his soul was present due to the reanimation, it was really quite simple to revive him at that point." Riley offered as an explanation.

"Wow! So it seems like there's more than a few differences between our lives." Narumi noted.

"Yeah… I'd say more than a few." Riley noted, her eyes flickering between the people that held Narumi so close to heart.

"So I saw that you have a wand, just like Lily, Narumi, and Naruko." Minato noted.

"Yeah, I actually went to Hogwarts when I was younger. Uncle Remus took me to England with him, I lived in Britain and learned magic at Hogwarts." Riley replied, earning a curious look from those around, especially Kushina and Lily.

"So you spent most of the year at Hogwarts? I'm honestly surprised. Thats a lot of time to spend away from home, and still be a shinobi." Lily noted, curiously. While a few of them did offer Riley curious looks at that, some, like Minato, Jiraiya, and Hiruzen, simply allowed their eyes to drift away. All three of them, having noted how Riley stood seperate from the people Narumi held closest to heart, as well as how dark and twisted her chakra was. They all knew about Narumi's condition as a half-demon, which naturally made her a bit quick tempered and more aggressive, but Riley was far darker, and far more imposing.

"I think I should clarify, I wasn't just there for school. I live there. When I was little I left the Leaf village. After Shisui died, I wanted nothing more to do with this place, so I went with Uncle Remus to travel the world. When I turned Eleven I got my Hogwarts letter, so we settled down there and that's where I live now. London is my home, not Konoha." Riley stated, causing silence to permeate the room. Lily looked stunned by that, so did Kushina. Tsunade's mouth was hanging open, while Jiraiya's eyes remained locked on Riley. Hiruzen quietly took a drag from his pipe, while Minato simply closed his eyes and took a calming breath. Naruko and Narumi had much louder reactions.

"What do you mean Konoha isn't your home!" Naruko demanded, while Narumi pierced her alternate self with a powerful, questioning gaze. Riley could hear her clicking her teeth as she tried to say something, but it seemed like Naruko had that covered. "Why would leave us like that? Me, and mom, and dad! Auntie Kushina! Granny Tsunade! Pervy Sage! What about all the people that loved you!?"

"All of those people love you, Naruko. They love Narumi too. They didn't all love me." Riley replied honestly, stopping Naruko's rant in it's tracks.

"What do you mean?" Narumi asked, her gaze hard and heavy, showing a maturity beyond her years.

"At some point in our lives, our paths separated. My parents adored Naruko, but were distant with me, and spent all their time focused on her. My godmother hated me. I had nothing to do with master Jiraiya. Naruko was an annoying little bully. The only people I had were uncle Remus, and Kakashi. One day we got into a fight. My Lily said some things to me, and my Minato agreed with her. So… I ran away from home. I lived on the streets for a while, and eventually I met Itachi and Shisui, and they helped me. They trained me, treated me like a little sister. Then Shisui died, and I was done with that place. I didn't belong in Konoha, and if everyone was gonna treat me like dirt, then I was just gonna leave. So I went and traveled Europe, then I ended up in Britain, and I've lived there up until now." Riley offered up, not really caring if they knew or not.

"Narumi… I'm so sorry that happened to you. I can't believe anyone would treat you like that." Kushina stated, holding back tears. Riley offered her a genuine smile.

"_It's alright mother. I didn't have you for most of my life. By when I learned about you… I found you, and we reunited."_ Riley whispered into her mind, causing Kushina to go rigid for several second, before tears started to fall from her eyes, and a happy smile spread across her face.

"None of you should feel the need to apologize for them. You aren't them. The fact that I'm sitting here speaking with you, should show you that despite sharing a face, you've already showed me you're nothing like them. And also, my name is Riley. I got it changed when I left. Riley Narumi Gyffindor Slytherin Uzumaki Senju Uchiwa Black." Riley stated offering the group a pleasant smile.

"Wow, that's quite a lot of titles you have there..." Tsunade noted.

"Well I have a very detailed understanding of my lineage. Including what went down on the day of my birth." Riley replied.

"You-Know-Who attacked you as well? Did Naruko also kill him in your timeline?" Lily asked.

"What the fuck…?" Riley muttered, dumbfounded.

"What?" Minato inquired.

"You still think Naruko is the girl-who-lived and yet you still treat me like a human being? What in the fresh hell was wrong with my parents?" Riley responded with a shake of her head.

"What do you mean by that? Naruko killed the dark lord when his attack rebounded off of the Nine Tails' power." Jiraiya noted.

"Really? And who told you that?" Riley asked.

As she did she noticed Narumi's eyes go wide and she stiffened. Riley knew instantly that Narumi also knew that she was the real girl-who-lived. It occurred to Riley in that moment, that if Narumi was treated better in this timeline she may have never felt the need to reveal the truth and simply kept it a secret. After all, if she was treated well, she wouldn't need something like that to try and gain attention.

Regardless the genie had been let out of the bottle, and unless Riley wanted to wrangle them all up and mind-wipe them, best just forge on.

"Dumbledore. He cast a special detecting spell that showed the presence of previously cast magic. It showed the fox's chakra around Naruko." Minato explained.

"When he cast the spell, did you look into my eyes?" Riley asked.

Silence filled the room, as Narumi let out a sigh and scratched the back of her head.

"No I don't recall checking. Why? What are you trying to say?" Minato asked.

"You wanna tell them, hero?" Riley inquired to Narumi causing her to cringe and everyone's eyes to turn towards her.

"Narumi?" Lily inquired.

"The **Rinnegan** allows me to have perfect recall. I remember everything I've ever said or done with it active. It activated when Voldemort came to kill us when we were born. And it was me he tried to kill first. His spell hit the seal which is what caused the damage that led to the Fox's soul leaking out. When the spell hit me the seal stopped it, and then, to defend myself, I activated **Shinra Tensei**. It rebounded his **Killing Curse**. And that's what really killed him." Narumi explained, scratching the back of her head nervously as she did.

"Narumi, why didn't you ever tell anyone?" Kushina was the first to ask.

"Because it wasn't important to me. I don't care if everyone thinks Naruko is the girl-who-lived. When I did that, it nearly got her killed. If it wasn't for the fox's power, Naruko would have died. I'd say the least I could do is let her have that honor. It didn't matter to me, and I didn't want people to look at me differently for something I did as a baby. It was an accident that nearly cost me my twin. Not really something to be proud of, ya know?" Narumi muttered, eyes dancing between everyone but settling on her twin.

Naruko stared back wide eyed. She blinked several times and took in a deep breath. After she released it she stepped up to her bigger twin sister, and gently clocked her atop the head with her knuckles.

"Naruko…?" Narumi muttered, gently rubbing the place she'd been bopped.

"Look at you, being all selfless. You're so worried about accidentally hurting me, that you'd let me take credit for something I didn't do. It's you who should take credit for this. I mean after all, you actually did it. Even if it was me, it would actually have the been fox who killed him not me. So regardless, its you who should be seen as responsible for the Dark Lord's demise." Naruko explained, her hands on hips, eyeing her older sister with a piercing yet ultimately happy gaze.

"Naruko..." Narumi again muttered, blushing lightly at her sister's words.

"Stop being so damn selfless! You already blush whenever people thank you for beating the Akatsuki and saving the whole world. You should take some time to bask in your achievements. You killed a dark lord when you were a day old! That's something to merit." Naruko responded, again earning a bashful response from Narumi.

While the adults in the room offered the twins compassionate looks, Riley herself couldn't help but feel happy for her alternate self. This was the kind of life she had wanted for herself when she was younger. A family that loved her. A sister she could spend time with and explore the world with.

A part of Riley always longed for this with her own parents and sister, despite everything that had happened between them. She has happy for her alternate self. Happy to see that she had a good life, and was happy in it.

"Eh enough focusing on the past. Voldemort's dead and gone. We should focus on more present stuff, like how another me is here, from another timeline." Narumi tried to deflect the focus away from her and onto… well… her.

Riley just offered a chuckle at that. From there the conversations continued. Well into the night, they talked about their lives. Riley got an amazing kick out of seeing herself blush when she went into detail about her mates.

It was only then that Riley realized that not only was Narumi a virgin, but she'd never even dated anyone. Also Riley's revelation may have been Narumi's unofficial coming out of the closet moment. With Tsunade smirking and saying something along the lines of that explaining why Narumi preferred to go on teams with girls and why she liked spending so much time at the bathhouse.

This got some good laughs from everyone, which ended with Riley inquiring about anyone Narumi may be attracted to.

"No one right now. I've been so busy after dealing with the Akatsuki, that I haven't really had time to look into it." Narumi admitted.

"Well… let me ask you this… you got a thing for blondes?" Riley inquired.

"Maybe." Narumi responded with a smirk and a blush.

"If you're ever feeling up for it, maybe take a trip to France. The head of the DMLE is married to a veela. They have two daughters. One of which I met when I was young…" Riley began with a smile… only for her to pause as a realization struck her. When she had first met Fleur, she had stopped Fleur and Gabby from getting raped. If she had never left the Elemental Nations… had that still happened?

"Riley?" Naruko inquired, as Riley stared off into space.

"Sorry… like I was saying… if you go there… find the Delacour family. The elder daughter, Fleur, she's a few years older than us, but she's a major knockout, and I'm sure she'd like you. Just… if you're interested." Riley finished.

**"Only gonna suggest Fleur? Not any of the others?" **Kurama inquired.

"_She was already blown away by the fact that I have six mates already. She's more than likely never thought of any sort of polyamorous relationship. I mentioned Fleur because I know how hard it can be for her as a Veela. Though a part of me does wonder if maybe I should have mentioned Luna, or even Kaede, or Gaia... If I never left Konoha then Artoria isn't here, and from what Narumi said earlier it doesn't sound like Yugito survived the fight against the Akatsuki since only the Two-Tails was returned to Kumo and not it's Jinchruiki. I know Katie and Daph will make it without me. But Fleur, Luna, Gaia, and Kaede... I don't know. It was only a suggestion for her, in the end maybe it's simply because I want it to be easy for the both of them. If she went and found Fleur, I know there would be no hardships between them. Narumi would be her mate, just like I am. Fleur would have the person of her dreams, and Narumi would have someone to love her unconditionally. It's selfish, I know, but with the life Narumi is going to lead, being Hokage an all, she needs someone who will cherish ever single moment they can share, no matter how sparingly, and someone who will never give up on it. I can make all my women happy, because I give them all the love and attention they need. They are my primary focus. Narumi can't really do that if she becomes Hokage. Fleur is someone who will always stand with her, no matter how much the job takes from them. That's the reason I chose her. All of my mates need someone to love them unconditionally and with all of their hearts, being a ruler, takes a lot away from personal relationships. And as Hokage, Narumi would have to put the village first. I wouldn't ask any of my mates to be second best to anything..."_ Riley explained her reasoning.

**"Except for Fleur, since if Narumi is her mate, she'll have found the one person who can make her the happiest. The job wont matter, Fleur will be happy, because she has her mate. Any of the others, may not gain the same level of happiness because of Narumi's other responsibilities. I** **understand**." Kurama finished for her, sounding thoughtful as he did.

"Maybe I'll look into it." Narumi responded with a thoughtful smile.

Conversations continued from there, but Riley was no longer as focused on them. For most of the trip, she'd been so wrapped up in admiring this life, that she'd forgotten all the things that would no longer happen.

By the time bedtime rolled around, Riley found herself on the roof of the Namikaze compound staring up at the moon, wondering about what would have happened if she hadn't left the Hidden Leaf.

"Well… We're headed off to bed." Came the voice of Minato. By his side was Narumi, both of them having snuck up on her while she was deep in thought.

"Alright." Riley responded, offering them a grateful smile.

"Do you need a room, or are you gonna stay out here all night?" Minato asked.

"I'll probably be here." Riley answered honestly.

"Will you be here in the morning?" He asked.

"Maybe. Go to bed thinking this is the last time you'll see me. If you wake up and I'm still here, you can be pleasantly surprised." Riley offered earning a gentle smile from the man.

"I know you said not to worry about it. That we don't compare to them, but I want you to know something. I don't know what was wrong with them, or why they didn't love you. All I do know is that they were damn fools. You're a good woman Riley, and you deserved far better." Minato offered, earning a nod of agreement from Narumi.

"Thank you. Thank you for saying that. You're a good man Minato. I don't know what all changed between our two times, but stay the course. Never change from who you are. This is the man I've always dreamed of you being. The father I've always wanted. Never change who you are. And never forget those you love and who love you." Riley responded, earning a nod and smile from the man, tears building in his eyes, which he quickly turned away from from them to hide.

"Try to get some sleep alright. You never know what tomorrow will bring." Minato offered over his shoulder as he disappeared from sight.

"Well. Maybe we'll talk again tomorrow." Narumi offered.

"Maybe. If not… I was happy to have this chance." Riley replied.

"Me too." Narumi stated.

"Well… I'll leave you to your thoughts." Narumi offered after a few quiet moments. She turned and began to head off, only stopping when Riley rose to her feet and said her name.

When she turned around, her jaw nearly slammed into the roof top. There, standing before her, Riley revealed her true appearance. Her wings were outstretched, her skin was a pale gray, her ears pointed, horns extended, nine of her ten tails swayed at her feet, while the last one help onto her sword.

"Never be afraid of your own greatness. No matter what happens, you have an amazing life ahead of you. Find someone who will love you for you. And never give up on them. I'm working on my seventh and eighth mates, because I'm simply addicted to love and affection. Never be afraid of it. It's honestly the best thing in the world." Riley told her, earning a slow, almost mesmerized nod. With a genuine smile, Riley shot into the air, leaving behind her stunned alternate self.

Riley took to the skies and simply started flying. She had no destination, only searching out a quiet separation from the world so she could resume thinking.

It was as she flew, that she felt a burst of power expand outward from her sword.

"What the hel..." Riley began to say, when she suddenly felt the ground appear beneath her feet, and she found herself standing before the visage of the Angel of Carnage.

"_**And what have you learned?"**_ It asked with a slight tilt of the head.

"I don't know. I learned quite a bit actually but I don't know what it was you wanted to show me." Riley responded.

"_**There is no point in hiding it from me. I wouldn't have brought you back if you hadn't learned. What did you learn?" **_It asked again.

"I got a glimpse of a what-if. Something I've always wondered about. What if my family loved me? What if Minato and Lily, raised me like parents are supposed to? She had a good life. Great even..." Riley replied.

"_**But…?" **_ The dark angel pressed.

"But it wasn't complete. I had my family, but what about my friends? What about grandfather Hashirama, and Sirius, and Remus? What about Itachi and Shisui? What about my mates and my kids? I can't imagine life without them, yet she seemed… content." Riley replied.

"_**You have pondered that scenario, all your life. You have wondered about that possibility since you were old enough to understand how they felt about you. Now you've seen it, and it has left you, unfulfilled. Do you know why that was?" **_The Angel asked.

"Because she wasn't me." Riley answered, honestly.

"_**That is correct. What you are today, is a direct result of all that you have endured, the good and the bad. You would not be you, had your parents raised you with love and compassion. Her life may have been good, but it was not your life. This is your life. This is who you are. Your pain. Your suffering. Your love. Your happiness. All of those things bound up within you, are a result of your life. You now see what the love of your parents would have gotten you."**_ The Angel responded, earning a slow nod from Riley.

"Was that really an alternate time, or was that an illusion?" Riley inquired after a moment of thought.

"_**Does it matter?" **_The Angel responded.

"I guess not..." Riley muttered, thoughtfully.

"**I think it was real, Danzo's soul is still in here Riley."** Kurama noted, through their connection.

"Right. Now what? I've passed your little test, so what happens now?" Riley inquired.

"_**You have not passed. You have merely taken your first step towards true understanding. You still don't know my true name, or my power. But you were successful. So I will grant you the right to a portion of my strength."**_ The Angel responded, as in it's hand a weapon manifested.

Riley's eyes fell to the odd sword that shaped in it's hand, it was an interesting design. The blade itself was straight, sharp on both sides, similar to a western sword. The blade was made of blackened metal. Along the center of the blade on both sides was an intricate design of various patterns though two did stick out, one that looked like an eye toward the center of the blade, and one that looked like the **Rinnegan**, towards the end of the sword.

On one side of the blade, it curved outward, widening towards the guard, while on the opposite side of the blade, it remained straight, though attacked to that side of the blade was what Riley could only describe as what looked like a bayonet of sorts. The bayonet was made of an even darker metal that was nearly as black as the darkness itself. The bayonet began at the base of the sword and extended a little over half way along the blade, almost adding a second short sword attached to the main blade.

Several inches of some sort of metallic structure separated the blade from the grip, though Riley didn't know it's function. At the location of the cross guard, the blade held two different designs on either side. On the side with the bayonet was a sharp crossguard that looked like a miniature dragon wing. With the wing facing towards the grip, allowing the bottom of the wing to form a small sharp edge that extended out about as far as the bayonet. On the opposite side, the crossguard was shaped almost like a small shield, extending out from above the hilt at a ninety degree angle, it extended out just past the end of the pommel, making it a very effective protection for ones fingers. This shield was ornate with a golden pattern on it, and silver edgings, though otherwise it was also constructed of the same blackened metal as the blade.

The hilt itself, upon closer inspection, actually looked like two handles folded together. Both curved slightly, revealing that despite the blade being straight it was meant to be held a certain way, the clear bladed part being used to strike with while the bayoneted part well… Riley didn't know what that part was for at the moment.

Her answer came as the angel brought the blade up, and before Riley's eyes, it began to change shape. Pieces of the blade began to move out of place, hilt angled away from the shield, the main blade slid back along with part of the metal piece separating the blade and the hilt, other parts of the metal pierces slid forward, extending a bit and allowing the contraption to take shape before Riley's eyes. It was just now she realized just what it was turning into.

With the shield in the position of a sight, the angled grip, and with the bayonet now extended further then the end of the device, it actually looked like some sort of gun. **(*1)**

"Cool. You've got a sword that can turn into a gun." Riley muttered, very impressed with it's design.

"_**So do you."**_ The Angel responded, causing Riley's eyes to fall to the sword strapped to her side. Slowly she drew the blade and her eyes turned towards the angel.

"_**As I said. I will grant you a portion of my power, but now I must show you how to use it. Call on me to bare witness and unleash chaos upon this wicked world, and when you do… think of her." **_The angel commanded.

Riley was silent for a moment before suddenly a smirk spread across her face.

"Bare Witness to this wicked world. Unleash Chaos, Ralael!" Riley snarled, imagining the face of Narumi in her mind. Just as the angel had said the blade's shape changed, now matching the one held in the angels hand.

"_**In order to learn my name, you must first understand my power. I have nine lessons to teach. With each one you pass, I will allow you another fragment of my power. Once all nine lessons are learned, I will have no more to teach you. You will either know my name and power, or you will be lost. This form we hold now, it the perfect conduit for power. It's design, it's presence, it's entire existence is the expression of energy. Allow me to show you how it works, and from the pain I bestow upon you, will you learn to make it sing!"**_ The angel finished with a snarl, raised the gunblade and firing a pure bolt of raw magic right at Riley.

The energy bolt raced towards her far faster that any bullet and Riley was had to quickly block in order to stop it. The end result was not what she extended. The force behind the magical bolt, sent her sliding back across the ground several meters.

Her eyes were wide in surprise as she pondered on the Angel's strength.

After a moment, she remembered something. This entity was born from her, an expression of her. It's power could quite possibly equal her own, or perhaps mirror it, was a better explanation. Regardless of the way it was described, a devilish grin spread across Riley's face.

These next few years would be oh so exciting now that she had someone on her level to train with.

"You wanna dance… alright, let's dance." Riley snarled, and then rushed forward, the angel transforming it's weapon back to it's blade form and rushing to meet her.

The mountaintop shattered from the force of their collision.

Down below, Kurama lifted his head from the ground, his eyes locked on the distant battle.

"_**Good luck kit. Something tells me this first lesson was the easiest. It only gets harder from here."**_ Kurama thought to himself, settling quietly and allowing the two to do their battle with each other.

Today, Riley had seen a glimpse into a possibility, one that opened her mind to others, and the things that could have been. Whatever lesson Ralael intended to teach, Riley intended to learn it with Gusto.

**-To be Continued-**

***1: The sword is modeled after Lightnings Overture from FF13-2. The only major differences are that it's palate swapped, being darker in appearance.**

**Alright that's it for this chapter, hope you enjoyed the what if, and seeing Riley interacting pleasantly with Minato for a change. it was a nice little chapter to write and I hope you had some fun reading it. I will be taking guesses to what Ralael's true or full name is, and I will be taking guess's to the swords actual power. it does only have one power, like all other Zanpakuto, it's just a unique one that grants it the ability to do what it does in this story. not a lot of hints as to what it is in this chapter so I don't expect many guesses, but it'll slowly reveal itself over time.**

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who offered me some aid in the Zanpakuto department, you're all amazing. and if anyone has a question feel free to leave a review or comment. Ja Ne!**


	14. 14: The World is Changing

_**Alright time for the next chapter. Gonna be doing more crossover stuff as time goes on, DC will play a large role in the future storyline elements, though I think you'll all begin to see which version of it, I'm going for as time goes on, as I don't intend to follow any one DC storyline, verbatim, rather I will take bits and pieces from the ones that I know to try and form a cohesive plotline in this story.**_

_**Again this takes place at around the time when many of the DC heroes are either just starting or not as well known. For instance, the Man of Steel hasn't put on the tights yet, but he's out saving the day, as was noted at Fairport, same with the Flash. With the Green Lanterns, we've seen that Hal Jordan is a veteran but John Stewart is a rookie who's still in his first few years of actual lantern work. By now Batman is probably also in his first few years of beating up bad guys in Gotham, so that worlds a bit quiet at the moment, but things will start to get louder as more and more comes to light.**_

_**Anyway, beyond that, I am curious as to what you guys think so far? I hope this seems a bit more cohesive and direct then the first part, where you kinda understand the end goal of the story, or at least understand the narrative. Where the first part was more so a journey without any really important destination, this time around, the destination is much more important, but the emphasis is still on the journey itself. At the end of the day, I simply hope everyone is enjoying it. Let me know what you think, and if you ever wanna chat story ideas, for mine or your own personal stories, feel free to pm me, or leave a review and I'll try to get back to you. Otherwise, I hope everyone is having a happy holidays, and enjoys their thanksgiving.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

Chapter 14: The World is Changing

**-Kamui, January 15th 1999-**

Madara smirked as he felt the strain against his **Imperfect Susano'o**. The body of the godly avatar teetered as it took on a barrage of magical bolts, each one striking with enough force to crack the entity's bones.

"Impressive. Even the light attack from the gun form of your released Zanpakutō is enough to damage my **Imperfect Susano'o.**" Madara noted, his **Rinnegan**, shining with excitement.

Standing not thirty meters off from him was his granddaughter. She was armed with her Zanpakutō, which had taken on it's new gunblade form. It had been just over a week since Riley had achieved **Shikai** with the weapon, or at least achieved it partly. From how she understood it, Ralael, or her Zanpakutō spirit, had nine lessons to teach her, and for each, she'd gain access to another portion of it's power. Culminating in **Bankai**, after the final lesson, or at least, that's what Riley assumed.

Upon her initial return, after having trained with the Angel to learn how to use the gunblade form of her weapon, Riley quickly sought out her teachers, gathering all of them up to explain what had happened.

Madara, Hashirama, Izuna, Shisui, Tobirama, Zabuza, Kushina, and Artoria, all sat in dumbfounded amazement as Riley explained how she had been taken to another timeline and shown a world where she never left Konoha. A world where Minato and Lily were good people, and Mito was seemingly uninvolved in things, after a certain point in time.

It was obvious to all of them that what Riley had seen there had greatly affected her, she seemed lighter, almost as if some measure of uncertainty that she carried before, was no longer present. She carried herself, just a bit taller if that were even possible.

It was after her explanation that she showed them her Zanpakutō in it's initial released state. Which took the form of a gunblade that channeled her raw power perfectly. The weapon itself was a tool of pure shape transformation. In gun form it could fire condensed balls of pure magic at incredible velocities. Each one of these spheres of magic, held all of the properties of Riley's base magic, with no modifications or changes to it. Meaning each ball of magic, was highly corrosive and corruptible to living things. Pure demonic magic, unleashed without any sort of elemental or magical alterations to it, which seemed to be the point of the weapon itself.

The secondary attack of the gun form was a charged piercing shot, that, depending on the power behind it, could accelerate a single bolt of magical energy anywhere from hypersonic to anywhere upwards and including superluminal velocity. These charging shots could take anywhere from ten seconds, to upwards to a full five minutes of continuous charging to achieve, but the affects were devastating, with Riley speculating that a focused charged shot could easily punch through an astral body the size of a moon if she focused enough.

Needless to say, she would rarely need to utilize that level of power, but it was incredible to see how well her weapon handled her raw power

When the weapon was in blade form, aside from functioning as a regular sword, it also had a light and heavy energy attack, same as in gun form. It's light attack was channeling arcs of pure energy that could be slashed at an opponent. These energy blades were similar in function to something like a wind blade or even spells like the **Severing Curse**.

And much like with the gun form, these blades could be unleashed at great speed, and the energy behind them was her unchanged pure magic, giving them the same poisonous and corrupted effects of her natural magic.

The heavy attack for the blade form was a charged blast of raw power that would unleash from the sword, useful for close range. This blast was basically just a close range explosion of her power, that emanated from the blade itself.

The gunblade covered all four distance factors when it came to combat. In gun form it was a medium and long range tool, though the attached bayonet did allow for some close range maneuvers if needed. While in sword form it was a short range to point blank range tool, making it incredibly versatile as a weapon. And while the magic utilized was virtually identical to Riley's base magic, it did possess one property that made it unique to any other weapon in Riley's arsenal, and that was that all attacks in Shikai form, could damage the target's soul. Just as the Shinigami had said, it was a weapon that could even harm higher beings like demons, devils, and fiends.

Given it's current abilities, there was some speculation as to what this weapon would be able to do when Riley began unlocking the next few stages of it's progression, but Riley wasn't actually certain that the gunblade would be her Zanpakutō's only form. Or perhaps that it's energy channeling ability was it's only ability.

This was a matter of some curiosity, especially for Riley, as, from what she had read from the Shinigami's instructions, her Zanpakutō would have only two forms. **Shikai**, or the Initial Release. And **Bankai**, or the Final Release. However, given what was said about the blade, the Angel's lessons, and how Ralael had told her when utilizing the chant to activate **Shikai** how she had to envision the heroic Narumi in her mind, led Riley to assume that each one of the Angel's lessons, were tied to a different form of the weapon itself, and thus a different form of Riley. This gunblade form was tied to the heroic Narumi that Riley had met, and was also tied to the Sky Blue light within the blade, that Riley now suspected were actually manifestations, or visualizations of her alternate selves' souls.

Meaning if Riley was correct, than her Zanpakutō had nine different forms, tied to nine different variants of Riley. But that in turn led to something more confusing. The Shinigami's scrolls had specifically stated that each Zanpakutō had one elemental base, or more specifically, one specialty. There was one power that the weapon had, which would begin with it's Initial Release and achieve far greater power at the Final Release. Now… aside from something changing due to Riley's demonic nature, if everything was still the same in regards to the rules, that meant that her Zanpakutō, still only had one specialty despite having nine different **Shikai **forms.

Which of course tied into Ralael's test. It admitted that it had a single power, and what that power was, was also instrumental in learning the sword's true name. For now, it accepted Ralael, which led Riley to believe that it's name was similar, or connected to her self-appointed title, but it obviously wasn't just Ralael.

For now though, Riley had no clue what it's true name could possibly be but she had only completed the first test, so she wasn't overly concerned at the moment. Around the fourth or fifth test, if she was still in the dark, then it was time to start worrying.

For now though, Riley was busy learning to wield her weapon's new form. A trying endeavor, but Riley had always enjoyed a challenge, and mastering this Shikai form would further her abilities, as well as open up new avenues of attack. The ability to so easily damage a soul, now that was a weapon worthy of mastering.

Aside from training with her new weapon Riley also spent some time reflecting on what she had experienced in that alternate timeline. A small part of her still wondered if things would have been different for her, had Minato and Lily raised her right, but after seeing and experiencing what she had in that other world, Riley felt that she had the better life, or more specifically, when comparing the two, Riley preferred her own life, over Narumi's. She did wonder though, what would the next eight lessons be like? What was the ultimate goal that the angel intended to reach? She wasn't certain but it did occupy her thoughts quite often, and more then once she simply spaced out while staring off, her mind deep in thought.

A week of training and deep reflection, an accurate summation of recent events.

"Well it seems the weapon can handle your power during battle. You'll have to get into a real fight though and push yourself further to see just how much it can really take." Madara noted, allowing **Susano'o** to fade.

"Yeah. I don't feel any frailty in the weapon when I pass my energy through it. It's not straining yet, so I think it's capable of going a helluva lot further. We'll just have to see." Riley agreed as she released the gunblade from it's initial release, transforming it back into a katana, which quickly found it's way back to it's sheath.

"Any word on when the Angel intends for your next lesson?" Madara inquired.

"I don't know. If I knew what the lessons were, I may be able to give an accurate guess, but without knowing it's full intention, I'm basically left at it's mercy." Riley responded with a shrug.

"Indeed..." Madara responded with a thoughtful look, much like Riley the old warhawk spent a great deal of time dissecting the events that had occurred recently, and in his heart of hearts, he knew something was about to happen. Maybe in a month, maybe in a year, but the world was about to change, and drastically.

-**Hellsing Manor, London. January 22****nd**** 1999-**

"You summoned me, my master." Alucard said with a smirk as he passed through the wall into Daphne's office.

"Yes. We have a problem and I need someone to deal with it quickly. I've received word from the Aurors that a vampire has attacked a small village to the north of here. They tried to corner it, but it responded by utilizing firearms to drive them away, killing one in the process. The Aurors aren't used to dealing with guns, and the fact that this vampire is using them leads me to believe it isn't from any of the known clans in the area. Most of them are highly attuned to magic and prefer to use it, rather than modern firearms." Daphne explained.

"A rogue? Interesting. Perhaps a little bloodling got away from it's master before it could be brought to heel? Regardless, I will put this rabid pup down for you my master, just tell me where and I will see it done." Alucard responded with a toothy grin.

"We'll be leaving in ten minutes, a portkey has been prepared to take us in close. Once we arrive, I'll leave the dealing of this 'pup' to you." Daphne informed him, earning a nod from her devoted servant.

"Of course my master. I will see it done." Alucard responded.

Not long later, Daphne, Alucard, and Walter arrived at a village, forty kilometers north of London.

The town itself was small, only a few hundred residents, meaning only a few police officers. Aurors were already on sight, under the guise of government agents in pursuit of a dangerous criminal.

The vampire had attacked town hall late in the day, murdering a janitor, and secretary, and one of the few police officers that had responded to the attack. The aurors soon arrived and moved in to try and deal with the threat quickly, but found themselves unable to put down the vampire due to it's incredible strength, and the fact that it was utilizing firearms as it's primary weapon.

"Shacklebolt..." Auror Nymphadora Tonks, called out to her senior, drawing his attention towards where she was looking, as she noted the approach of Daphne, Walter, and Alucard.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt… always a pleasure." Daphne greeted the man as she approached.

"Lady Slytherin Hellsing. We appreciate you coming. This one's a real pain, and we need to deal with him quickly." Kingsley stated.

"Is it in there?" Daphne inquired, glancing at the large wooden structure nearby.

"As far as we know. Three dead so far, including one of ours, and it's reanimated them." Kingsley informed them.

"Ghouls..." Daphne sighed, turning her gaze towards Alucard and offering him a nod.

With a devilish smirk, the Vampire Lord headed past them and into the building.

"Do we know anything about the vampire? Does he bare the marking of any of the local covens? Is he offering up any demands?" Daphne asked.

"No. He appears to simply be in a frenzy, though he hasn't utilized any magic beyond reanimating those he's killed so far." Kingsley responded.

A few moments later, several loud gunshots echoed from inside. Another minute passed when Alucard strolled back out of the building, a smirk adorning his face.

"It's done, my master." Alucard stated.

"Learn anything interesting?" Daphne inquired.

"Only that he had the capacity for a great deal of power, despite the fact that he was so raw." Alucard responded.

"Meaning?" Daphne pushed for clarification.

"I believe he means that this vampire was blooded by someone very powerful and close to the original, and yet… he was wild, untamed." Walter offered, earning a small chuckle from Alucard as a form of agreement.

"The leader of the largest coven in the area is still over a half-dozen generations out from you. You're saying it's closer then even that?" Daphne asked of the No-Life King.

"That is correct master. He wasn't trained or skilled, but had he been, this whole town would have been annihilated." Alucard responded.

"That's concerning." Shacklebolt noted.

"It is. I'll leave the rest of this mess for the aurors to clean up. I have some things I have to look into." Daphne offered to the head auror earning a nod from the man.

"This smells fishy to me." Walter noted as the three headed away from the building.

"Me as well. Powerful vampires don't sire many others, and the ones they do are highly trained and kept on a tight leash to avoid detection. This was sloppy." Daphne stated, vocalizing her concern.

"Indeed. Perhaps we should look into any recent arrivals. This may not have been from one of the covens, but perhaps a rogue?" Walter suggested, earning a nod of agreement from Daphne. She found herself more and more happy, as time went by with acquiring Walter's services, he truly was an exceptional butler, and a far better vampire hunter. His knowledge was truly invaluable.

As the three made their way out of sight to return to the Hellsing Manor, high up in the sky, watching their every move was Riley. This had definitely touched at her curiosity. It was definitely something she'd have to keep an eye on as well.

-**January 25****th**** 1999-**

Things were changing with each passing day. The Legion was growing in power, every day it seemed like there were new tactics, weapons, or abilities being produced by the Legion.

To start off with, the Legion had expanded it's repertoire of firearms, they still held to their main weapons, but they now spent time training with the most widely used firearms on the planet. Starting with their own native country's military issue weapons, and then expanding to the most widely utilized weapons.

By the time they were ready for active duty, most Legionnaires were trained in the use of multiple firearm types including various rifles, handguns, sub-machine guns, and shotguns.

They'd also enhanced their understanding of various explosives by studying various techniques developed my militaries, paramilitaries, terrorist groups, rebel freedom fighters, and militia from around the world. They also began to incorporate chakra molding into explosive clay, creating more powerful explosives. A secret they had stolen from Iwa, during the war.

Learning to utilize vehicles also became a priority in training. Most cars and other ground based transportation vehicles were of little use to Legionaires as they could often outrun cars, or utilize magical forms of transportation to move quickly, but with the Legion the idea of always being prepared was drilled into the minds of every soldier, and so they learned how to use such things, despite their lack of need.

Another more direct form of training came in learning to utilize aircraft. At the moment, Helicopters were the primary area of study due to their versatile nature, however Itachi had plans of getting his hands on military planes and learning to utilize them, to further the Legion's ability in battle.

Besides firearms, every Legionnaire now studied in the use of a blade, as well as various ninja tools, including shuriken, kunai, paper bombs, smoke bombs. They were taught stealth, they were taught martial arts, they were taught how to use ninjutsu, genjutsu, combat magic, elemental magic, even the dark arts.

Legionaries drilled themselves into the ground, because the results showed. They were powerful, and getting stronger the further they went.

The number of Legionnaires was growing, and quite rapidly, various muggleborn, that had lost out on places to go after graduation found work with the Legion. Rogue and Wandering shinobi from the Elemental Nations were allowed to settle in the village after swearing to magical oaths of service.

Various individuals were developing new forms of weapons, spells, jutsu, and the clans were refining their abilities to a point they'd never even imagined.

The Aburame clan were now breeding hordes of beetles that were fireproof, and could withstand temperatures nearing twenty-five hundred degrees Fahrenheit. The Inuzuka were now modifying their dogs with Tonics, Plasmids, and Vigors that gave them new abilities. The Yamanaka clan had developed a way to utilize the **Possession** vigor and their clan jutsu to actually place their consciousness into machines, allowing them to control the machines as if it were their own bodies, leading to the idea of creating more humanoid robots for use in battle, spying, and scouting.

The Uchiha, and Hyuuga were the best sharpshooters that they had, the Uchiha had the best firearms reaction time, easily able to blast into a room and put a dozen rounds onto a dozen separate targets in the time it took the gun to chamber and fire all twelve rounds. The Hyuuga could use wind infused bullets fired from Barrett 50. Caliber Rifles to hit a target over a kilometer away, through several walls.

Amassing power, and getting famous was the name of the game. Right now, if the Legion wasn't training or handling basic assignments, they were setting up outposts in secret places, all over the world, stealing shipments of weapons, and vehicles being moved by black market gun runners, or they were gathering information on anything and everything, from local info from around their hideouts, to infiltrating meetings between powerful political figures.

One day, the Legion would rise to a level of power that would make even Konoha look pathetic by comparison.

**-****London**-

Riley quietly made her way down a sparsely traveled street on the edge of London. Snow fell from the sky, and nary a soul could be found.

It was a few moments before Riley lifted her gaze, and spotted a distortion covering the entire street ahead of her.

This distortion was born of magic, and was reminiscent of a barrier/ward scheme, meant to keep people away from it.

Often times such wards were found around places magicals frequented, they gave off an unnerving aura that kept muggles away from them.

This one though, was positioned over an entire street.

Curiously, Riley made her way into the boundaries of the field, she found nothing inside, other than the same street that should have been there.

Riley kept walking and stepped out into the road, stopping at where she presumed the center of the field was. Her eyes flickered around her, gazing at the strands of magic that floated about. It was interesting, the way it looked. There was a holy aura to the magic in the air, not anything like Excalibur, nowhere near that intensity, but still an odd thing, and an unnatural one too.

"I smell a trap..." Riley hummed aloud. As the words left her mouth, she felt magic flair from nearby.

Across the ground, snow shot into the air, as magical symbols began to manifest. Rapidly, a seal configuration spread across the pavement and sidewalks. The seal formed a circular pattern with Riley at the center. A quick glance at the seal revealed it to be three separate interlaced seals. One seal looked to be designed to suppress demonic energy. One seal looked like it was meant for suppressing regular magic, and the final one was a **Paralysis seal**. The markings were Latin in origin, though having learned from Madara, Hashirama, and Kushina, on top of her own seal training, Riley was able to easily identify the rather mediocre seal formula, despite not being written in Kanji.

Riley felt the seals activate, she felt a pressure on her shoulders, and a magical force attempt to hold her in place. The holy tinge to the magic, enhanced it's effects, however it was clear that whoever had designed this seal formula couldn't compare to someone like Kushina, and definitely was no where near as good as Mito.

For the hell of it, Riley played along, dropping to a knee and letting out a halfhearted cry of pain. A few seconds later, several figures began to emerge from the alleyways on either side of the street.

Nearly a dozen men and women surrounded her. Each one wearing all black, and adorned with long black trench coats.

The only other similarity the mysterious group shared was the adornment of a cross around their necks.

One of them, slowly placed a medium sized ornate box on the ground a few meters in front of Riley, while the others drew handguns, and leveled their firearms at Riley, each one aiming specifically for her heart.

"**Hmm… looks like they intend to seal you in that box."** Kurama noted with a chuckle.

"_But how could they know that I'm a demon? Unless of course they don't know about that, and they're after the Ten-Tails… or you..." _Riley thought back, earning a snort of amusement from the Archdemon.

"Why… are you doing… this…?" Riley muttered, trying her best to sound like she was having a hard time.

"The power of the tree of life, does not belong with you. Only God, should have access to that power." Came the answer from the same man that had placed the box in front of her.

"_Ten-Tails it is." _Riley thought to herself.

"Huh..." Riley muttered as she rose back to her feet. The action caused all twelve individuals to flinch, and then immediately fire their weapons at her.

Riley caught one of the bullets while the rest bounced off of her skin. She rolled the round in her fingers, feeling the gentle burn of holy magic, infused into the round. It was faint, not placed there like how the Legionaries would infuse bullets with magic. This seemed weaker, less potent. Despite holy energy being her counter, her demonic power was to dense for such tiny fragments of magic to do anything against her.

It was like throwing a paper cup of water onto a forest fire, or perhaps more aptly, throwing a match into the ocean, it did nothing.

After several moments the bullets stopped coming as they realized they weren't getting through.

The lead man quickly knelt to the ground, placing his hand on the box, and he began to recite a chant, that sounded like it was from some form of holy text, but Riley couldn't place it.

Deciding that she was done playing, Riley lashed out with one of her tails, smashing the box into splinters and sending the man stumbling backwards, with a look of pure shock on his face.

From the box, Riley felt holy magic, much more powerful stuff than the barrier or the bullets, but nowhere near what would be needed to seal the Ten-Tails, let alone her. Whoever these guys were, they clearly had no idea what they were dealing with.

"So… I heard something once from a demon summoner that I killed. He warned me about some guys, who had a very specific sigil. Two keys, crisscrossing in an X formation, both tied together by a red string. A crown above, and below the roman numerals XIII. Iscariots he called them. I'm gonna make an educated guess, and feel free to say nothing if I'm right, you guys, are the ones he was talking about?" Riley noted, recalling the warning she had been given so very long ago, by Sebastian Yurik back during the Triwizard tournament and on the night of her ascension to a full-blooded demon.

Silence permeated the group, their eyes all locked onto her, Riley could barely detect any fear in them, but it was there, buried deep within them.

"Right… well then let me explain something to you guys. This power never belonged to 'God' whether he exists or not. And even if it did, it's mine now. You can't have it, and neither can he. God was happy to sit by and let the world be destroyed by the Ten-Tails. I was one who stopped it, me and mine. Not you and yours. So… here's what's gonna happen. One of you is going home in peaces, the rest aren't going anywhere. I need one of you to let your superiors know what happened here. So… who's it gonna be?" Riley finished with a chuckle, as they all aimed their guns at her again.

Before another bullet could be fired, Riley spoke again. "And I just realized something… you're all muggles."

The devilish smirk that spread across her face, caused even the stalwart hunters of evil, to pause, as fear gripped at their hearts.

Finally, Riley let out a single snort of laughter, as all ten of her tails launched out at speeds, imperceptible to the human eye. Ten of the twelve lost their heads, instantly. Swatted away, into showers of gore.

This occurred so quickly, that ten of the twelve were dead, before the remaining two could even register what had happened. The only two left alive, were standing directly behind her, and the one that had deployed the sealing box, directly in front of her.

In the next instant, the one standing behind Riley had his firearm swatted from his hand, and one of Riley's tails unfurled at the end, and seized his head in a vice grip, entangling it, like how a squid would entangle it's pray.

Riley began to chuckle, as the remaining demon hunter finally registered what had happened. He glared at her, as the one in Riley's grasp began to struggle and pull at her tail, flailing about as he tried and failed to break free.

Riley heard the hammer fall back on the remaining hunter's firearm, a wordless **Expelliarmus **leaped from her hand, and struck the man before the bullet could fire. The gun flew into the air, firing a shot as it did, which flew off into the sky.

The gun landed on the sidewalk, several meters away.

"I have a message for your organization. You'll deliver it for me." Riley stated aloud, her eyes locked onto the man before her.

"I will not do your bidding, witch!" He hissed in reply.

"I wasn't talking to you." Riley responded with a hellish grin as her wand appeared in her hand. The man before her, drew a knife, and began to race towards her. He only got about a meter, when Riley hit him with **Oculus Rumpitur** the **Eye Bursting Curse**.

His screams tore through the air as his eyes erupted into a spray of murky ooze. He fell to the ground clutching at his face, and his still struggling comrade, ceased his attempts to free himself as he saw what happened, through the gaps in Riley's hold on him.

Slowly, Riley turned around to face her captive assailant. She locked eyes with him and pointed her wand at his chest.

"My message is simple… if I so much as smell you on my island again… I'll go to where you live… and bleed every man, woman, and child I find, until you fuckers are all dead. You got that?" Riley inquired, she could just barely see the man attempt a glare at her through her tails.

Riley let out a chuckle at that, turning back to the fallen man on the ground. This time she hit him with the **Retorto Membrum**, the **Twisting Limbs Curse**. The spell struck his upper left arm, causing it to violently twist around eight times at the shoulder, tearing free from the muscle and the socket after the second pass.

More screams tore into the air, as Riley turned her gaze back towards her captured prey.

"Do you understand my message?" Riley asked again.

He was shaking now, obviously afraid and trying desperately to summon up his courage. Riley had to admit, he was doing a good job. She hadn't used any of her KI against him yet, so to his mind, he was simply facing a vile and twisted witch with a demon sealed inside of her. If she really wanted him to soil himself, she could just hit him with some Killing Intent, but that would be to quick.

After ten seconds of silence, Riley turned back towards the man, now shaking at her feet.

With a wave of her wand, she sealed his mouth closed with **Oscausi**. She then hit him with **Vomitus**, the **Vomiting Jinx**.

Disgusting vile spewed from the fallen hunter's nose, as that was it's only avenue of escape. He thrashed and struggled as he continued to vomit. And while it did erupt from the man's nose, it also blocked his only remaining airway, causing him to begin violently asphyxiating.

"Tell me you understand, and will deliver my message, and I'll put a stop to his suffering." Riley commanded as she returned her gaze to the horrified visage of her captured prey. His eyes were locked firmly on his fallen comrade as he suffered. Riley stared back, ready to unleash another bout of torture onto the man, when finally she heard her captured hunter speak.

"I'll do it. I'll tell them. Just stop. He has suffered enough!".

"Good. That's all I wanted to hear." Riley stated before glancing down at the man and unleashing **Amaturasu **onto his body.

The flames quickly devoured him, as a non-magical, there was very little for the fire to consume, so it killed him in mere moments, and reduced him to ash, a few seconds afterwards.

"Tell your bosses, tell your people, tell whoever will listen, that this power is mine, and mine alone. I fought for it, I bled for it, I won it. It doesn't belong to you, to God, to anyone else. It's mine. Come after me again, come looking for me again, come to this land again… and I'll slaughter every single one of you… and then I'll go to your homes… and burn them down. Are we clear?" Riley demanded as she stepped away from the ash pile and stood before the remaining hunter, her tail unfurling from his head, freeing him from her grasp.

His eyes were wide and quivering, his whole body was shaking, sweat poured from his face. He was afraid. Despite how well he held himself up, despite how well he was maintaining his composure, he couldn't hide his feelings, nor could he hide how tightly he gripped his cross, as if he was standing before the devil himself.

"Now fuck off." Riley stated, patting him on the shoulder as she walked past him, picking up one of the hunters pistols and withdrawing the magazine from it. She popped one of the bullets out, and placed it on her palm.

Again she felt the burning sizzle from the holy energy… and she felt her curiosity grow. She began to move away, drawing in the souls of the slain hunters as she did, taking in their memories and knowledge.

"_Iscariots indeed. Huh? Interesting..."_ Riley thought to herself as she exited the wards that kept this exchange hidden from those outside of it. She left the remaining hunter standing in the snow covered street, clutching at his cross, fear now overtaking his senses, as the witch departed. Slowly, he fell to his knees, and began to weep.

**-****Northern Russia. January 2****8th 1999-**

Riley stood upon a perch staring out across the vast open tundra before her. Cold, wet, snow fell from the sky, and aside from the blowing wind, an eerie silence permeated the landscape.

Riley held silent as she felt magic radiate through the world around her. Something was coming, something powerful, and dark, it's energy wasn't wholly malevolent, not demonic, but definitely twisted.

Slowly, Riley's eyes drifted to a nearby forest as movement caught her gaze. Emerging from the edge of the forest was a pack of wolves, and leading said pack was a twisted creature.

It looked like a wolf, but was nearly the size of a full grown grizzly bear. It's canines were elongated, extending out from it's closed mouth. A dozen or so, bone-like spikes, emerged from it's back, almost like the quills of a porcupine.

Even from several hundred meters away, Riley could feel the eyes of the beast locked onto her. And now that she was seeing it, she could tell what it was.

A powerful and twisted familiar. Something that was once a normal animal, but had now become this thing.

Amongst the pack, Riley spotted the beast's brood. They were shaped like wolves, but larger then their normal brethren, and they radiated the same darkened magic.

The pack slowly crossed the field towards where Riley was perched atop a large rock.

She eyed them the whole way and watched as they came to a halt about a hundred meters away.

With a mighty leap, Riley crossed the distance between her and them, and landed a few meters before the leader of the pack.

Riley locked eyes with the beast, and it stared back. Now this close, she could easily make out icy blue eyes, that seemingly glowed.

"Mighty beast… you've been here awhile, where's your master?" Riley inquired aloud, sensing that the creature may be able to understand her.

The wolf stared back at her for several long moments before pawing at the ground and shaking his head. Riley sensed a feeling of abandonment from the beast, at the mention of a master.

"Gone? I'm sorry to hear that. Despite your nature, you seem relatively tempered. Do you know what I am?" Riley inquired. The wolf stared at her for several moments before glancing around at the world in general.

"Nature… yeah, close enough." Riley let out a chuckle at that.

The wolf blinked at her several times before tilting it's head, displaying signs of curiosity.

"Why am I here? Well I'm just looking around, exploring the world, meeting some of the old beasts, trying to get a feel for my neighbors." Riley responded, earning a bark from the large wolf, a rather resounding noise, easily able to damage a normal human's eardrums if it were barking right next to them.

"Feel free to go about your business, I wont interfere." Riley offered, earning what almost looked like a bow from the wolf-like creature, which then turned and headed back towards the forest, along with it's pack.

"**That was an interesting find."** Kurama noted.

"_That it was. Magic is growing stronger, and beasts such as that are getting more powerful as a result."_ Riley thought to herself as she watched the pack depart.

As she had said, Riley was just out exploring, when she had picked up on this powerful dark presence here in the northern tundras of Russia. As was often suggested to her by others, Riley had decided to simply go out and see what the world had to offer. She had picked a random place on a world map and just went there and looked around. This was the second place she had visited today, and while here she had sensed this presence a few hundred kilometers away from her arrival location.

The wolf-like beast was definitely far more then a magically infused wolf, but the corrupted nature of it, did not signify a spirit, or a fae of some sort. This beast had been created, more then likely by a witch or wizard, by summoning a dark spirit unto the earth. Riley had to guess, given that the creature was generally pleasant, at least around her, that it had probably been there at least a century or more, and had adapted to life on Earth, and thus become more in control of itself.

The nature of it's energy made it seem like it had perhaps once been something living, like a magical creature such as an elf. It's spirit had been placed int this body, but not entirely, not enough for it to have the full intelligence of such a creature, but definitely more then a regular wolf.

Riley had no way of knowing how docile the creature was, since it was obvious that it knew or at least sensed the Ten-Tails' energy within her, and knew that she was far outside of it's weight-class. But it didn't seem overly unpleasant, and even showed signs of sadness at the loss of the whomever had brought it here into the world.

This beast's power was similar to the corrupted nature energy found in Orochimaru's curse marks. It was still incredibly malevolent, but not evil like a demon.

It was an interesting find, and it made Riley curious about what other things she may locate, simply by going out and looking. So with that in mind, Riley took the skies, and headed out in search of a new place to explore.

**-Riley's Home, London. February 1st 1999-**

Riley watched as Elsa and Anna, played with Olaf, Paxton, and Darren out in the snow, the two young women were enjoying playing around with Elsa's Nephews, acting almost like children themselves as Elsa used her ice powers to create icy slides and snowy creations for them to have fun with.

Riley was happy that her daughter and grandchildren were acclimating so well to there new life. Elsa was bold, and eager to learn new things, and with Anna by her side, she was often encouraged to go out exploring. While always keeping an eye on them, Riley did offer them a bit of freedom, knowing that Reedman was always around and watching over them. That and Elsa was no slouch when it came to protecting herself.

Plus Anna had taken up learning how to defend herself, just in case.

So far, the two seemed to be doing well. Anna hadn't ordered Reedman to murder anyone, as far as Riley knew, and she seemed happy to just be able to spend time with her mate.

Of course with the two of them as a couple, Riley did pull Elsa aside one day and offer her a word of warning. Despite being a half-demon, her demonic side was incredibly powerful, and while she hadn't embraced it, like Eleanor, Zabuza, or Wesker, it was still there, and could roar to life at any moment.

For normal half-demons, it wasn't possible, but for someone, whos half-demon blood comes from an Archdemon, there did exist a chance for the rules to be different, so Riley offered Elsa an explanation on how demonic reproduction worked, and how she could accidentally get Anna pregnant, if she was focused on the idea while the two were mating.

Despite Elsa's embarrassment at the topic, Riley made sure she understood that she had no idea if it could happen, as far as half-demons, went they were usually tied to the standard methods of reproduction, and those that magic provided, but with Riley as her sire, some of the rules may not apply due to the raw power of the magic within her, and at the end of the day, when it came to magic, all that mattered, was control, the amount, and intent. With all three, anything was possible, even things that weren't.

As for her grandchildren, the boys were both growing more and more adventurous and acclimated to the outside world as time went on. Paxton was displaying signs of being a genius, just like his grandmother in Riley, and his psychic powers were growing as well. He could now easily project his thoughts into the minds of other people, allowing him to communicate with ease, he had also taken to learning how to alter the perceptions of others using said powers, which made him exceptionally skilled at using Genjutsu, as he could essentially trigger them in a person's head, without them even needing to come into contact with him. If he could sense their mind, and enter it, he could place them under an illusion. Aside from that, Paxton acted much like a shyer, more reserved Wesker. He was prideful, a bit arrogant, curious, and very interested in learning new things.

Darren was much more receptive to his family nowadays, but he wasn't nearly as chatty as his brother. He did speak however, but usually only a few words at a time. The boy was very curious about the world, and was easily drawn into lessons and studies. He was the more physically active of the two of them, always eager to be out and doing something, be it training, going for runs, exercising, or even just playing around. Darren, despite his weaker psychic powers, was a powerful empath, much like his mother, and both of his grandmothers. He liked to spend a lot of time with Kaede, and would often follow her down to the orphanage when she went to see her little brother.

Speaking of them, the rest of Riley's growing family were acclimating to their new lives. Zabuza had integrated into the Legion rather well, and enjoyed his time there. He was treated with respect, and was often approached by aspiring swordsmen and women for tips. Katie herself spent a great deal of time with her son, learning how to fight with a sword, and from what Riley could tell from her subtle spying, she was actually becoming quite proficient.

Haku, seemed relatively happy. He spent time with his family, and made friends outside of Zabuza, mostly though he hung out with Naruko. He did join with Elizabeth, and Amaru in taking lessons on healing Ninjutsu from Hashirama, whom was occasionally teaching classes on it, at the hidden village.

Elizabeth was far more outgoing now then she had been when she had first arrived. She was no longer as nervous around Riley, and the two got along rather well. Elizabeth's primary interest was in exploring, and spent a lot of time doing just that. Her room was covered in drawings and paintings of the places she'd visited, that she would either draw from memory, or open a tear up to look at. So far Elizabeth had explored London, Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam, and Vienna. She was always eager to approach Riley with ideas for places to visit, if only for a day or two, whenever Riley had free time to take her to these places.

This had also been one of the reasons Riley had finally decided to go out and do her own exploring. She hoped she could find some interesting or beautiful locals, she could take her family, friends, and mates too so that they could experience some of the wonderful places in the world.

Eleanor spent most of her time, down in Rapture. She had effectively taken command of the remaining Big sisters, and Big Daddies, and used them to further her research into various subjects. She had made progress into the project Riley had asked of her, and had managed to develop a Vita chamber, that could be keyed into anyone, and would function upwards to a kilometer away. Eleanor herself, was always busy, and always working, discovery was her bread and butter, and she enjoyed every second of it.

Wesker, held even greater ambition then his half-sister. If he wasn't practicing and learning to control magic, he was training his body, or he was in Rapture, studying and developing new ways to utilize the T-Virus, G-Virus, and T-Veronica Virus. If he wasn't working on that, he was studying up all he could on half-demons and what they could do. Out of all of her children, Riley suspected that he was the one most likely to eventually give up his human half, and become a full blooded demon one day. A process that she was quite curious to bare witness to when the day came.

Amaru either spent her days treating injuries at the hidden village, or she was traveling the streets of London, helping the homeless with their wounds, ailments, or sicknesses. She had the heart of a doctor, and it most definitely kept her busy. She never seemed to tire of it though, and a smile often spread across her face as she headed out for a day's work. When it came to her siblings, a certain mother-hen attitude often overtook her when she would come around to treat their injuries, often chiding them and teasing them for getting hurt. She truly did care for them, and spent a great deal of time, making sure they were well.

Alma, the most recent addition to Riley's collection of children, still resided within Riley. Much like the Darkness, Alma stayed bonded with her mother, avoiding the outside world and the people that could hurt her. She would often psychically bond with her children and draw them into a dreamlike world whenever they slept to spend time with them, and she was almost always watching them. While her physical form was joined with Riley's, Alma was still able to send her projections out into the world, so Alma's childlike form could sometimes be found wandering about. On one occasion, she found it laying next to Kaede while she slept, and on another it sat next to her, while she watched television. Despite her apparent apprehension towards interacting with the outside world, Alma still tried to spend time with her immediate family. The image of younger Alma could sometimes even be spotted spying on her other siblings, though often from a distance, and usually in a manner that led them to often being unaware of her presence.

All in all, Riley's children were doing well. As was her family, most of them were out at the moment, with those playing in front of her, being the only ones home right now.

Offhandedly, Riley wondered how Naruko was doing. She had taken Boruto over to the Inuzuka compound at the Hidden Village, so that he could spend time with his half brother.

Hana Inuzuka, whom had been used by her clan elders as a brood mare when Naruko was forced to sire children, had given birth to a healthy baby boy Kenzō Inuzuka. Naruko tried to spend what time she could with her other son, though her bond with him wasn't as strong as it was with Boruto, but luckily, Kenzō had the affection and love of his clan mates to keep him happy, as well as a loving mother, grandmother, and uncle, in Kiba.

Riley also didn't have as close a bond with Kenzō as she did with Boruto, but she did send a clone to keep an eye on the young one, as a member of her family.

Riley only hoped that as he grew older, he and Boruto would have a close relationship as brothers, just as she hoped that Boruto would have a close bond with her own children when they came.

Speaking of which, Riley's thoughts had been preoccupied these last few days with thoughts of children. She knew that the time was fast approaching. Fleur was ready, she simply wanted to be married before they started their family. With their wedding set for June 1st, it would only be a few short months before Riley could raise her number of wives to two.

She wondered what Fleur was more hopeful for, a boy or a girl. Veela rarely had boys, but with Riley as the sire, that opened up all sorts of possibilities.

The pregnancy wouldn't be long either. Maybe six months, or possibly even seven, but it definitely wouldn't be the full nine before the child was ready to come out.

But that would put Fleur's due date past their wedding, even if she got pregnant now. An idea began forming in Riley's mind that could benefit Riley's situation. If she got Fleur pregnant sooner rather then later, it may finally put a stop to Riley's sexual episodes, which would prevent her from having one when she finally took Artoria and Yugito as mates, thus reducing the risk to them. And the child would still be born after the wedding.

That could work out… but maybe Fleur wanted to actually wait until the honeymoon to start trying for a child? Or perhaps the whole marriage angle was more for the security of the family unit idea? Then again, if Riley did it this way, it'd be a surprise… but would Fleur be mad? Probably not. Maybe Riley needed to talk to her about it… but that would ruin the surprise. There was some joy in not knowing when it would happen, make it more spontaneous and memorable then the two of them agreeing that at this time and place, Riley would impregnate her.

It was a thought provoking idea. Riley so rarely had the chance to be spontaneous with her mates, at least in a romantic sense. Though that may not be entirely true, that's how Riley saw it. Perhaps this was a way to add some excitement to their already exciting romance, if she got Fleur pregnant outside of them just deciding on the when and where, maybe it would excite Riley's other mates, and show them how badly she wanted to start a family with them, and that as soon as they were ready, Riley was too.

It was definitely something to think about. Maybe closer to the wedding, a month or two before, would make it much less of a big deal… regardless, today definitely wasn't the day for it, so for now, it could be put off until later.

-**Hellsing Manor, London. February 5th 1999-**

"Another? That's the second major vampire attack this year." Itachi noted. He was currently sitting in the main meeting room of Hellsing Manor, alongside Daphne, Artoria, Amelia Bones, Shikaku Nara, Kakashi, Walter C. Dornez, and Riley.

"These vampire attacks are becoming a headache. Alucard has again confirmed that this vampire is of higher birth, just like the last one. Meaning that it's sire is one of Alucard's direct descendants, only a few generations away from him, at the most. Yet despite their proximity to the No-Life King, they are highly untrained, and at most, only know how to use their physical abilities, and how to create ghouls." Daphne explained to her close allies.

"I've had Alistair Moody, speak with some of his contacts in the local vampire covens, and they report no recent breaks from their organizations. Even if there were though, there are no vampires that closely related descended from the Vampire lord himself. We're most likely looking at a foreigner." Madam Bones offered.

"That brings up the question then… why here? Why Britain?" Kakashi asked what they were all thinking.

"Their reasoning doesn't matter, it's obvious that at the least, the person creating this vampires is unable to control them, making them inept, and dangerous, and at the worst, they are actively releasing them to attack us. So… I see no other option but to hunt down the person responsible and stop them." Artoria stated, acting as head of the Round Table, and thus Daphne's, Itachi's, and Madam Bones' direct superior.

She earned nods from all three of them in response to her orders.

"The Legion will begin gathering data from nearby lands, we'll try to learn if there's been any recent breaks from some of the larger vampire covens, in Europe." Itachi offered.

"Then I'll have my Aurors investigate locally, checking out Knockturn Alley, for any signs of new arrivals." Madam Bones added.

"Very well then. While the Legion and the Aurors search for answers, Hellsing will continue to put a stop to these threats and preserve the Statute of Secrecy. Is there anything else?" Artoria stated, her eyes slowly drifting over to Riley whom was standing quietly away from the table, her eyes focused on nothing, giving off the impression that she wasn't even hearing them, and was thinking very deeply.

After a few quiet seconds, her eyes drifted over to Artoria and she smiled. "Nope. Nothing to add." Riley responded.

"**You're not gonna tell them?"** Kurama inquired.

"_Not yet. So far Iscariot's attack against me, only has anything to do with me. It doesn't involve Britain, the Legion, or the Ministry of Magic. So I'll deal with it myself for now. I am curious though… both of these events started so closely to one another… I can't shake the possibility that there's a connection. Also..."_ Her eyes drifted over to Daphne's butler, as Artoria began to speak again.

Walter C. Dornez, the Angel of Death. A legendary vampire hunter. An asset to be sure. And someone who had a powerful grasp on their emotions. But that didn't mean that everything was kept hidden. Especially not the feeling of triumph that bubbled deep within.

As the meeting came to an end, and those participating rose to depart, Riley approached the Angel of Death.

"A moment of your time, if you please." Riley inquired, earning a curious look from the man, and the attention of Daphne, and Itachi whom both took notice of this.

"What can I do for you madam?" Walter responded, politely.

"I would simply like to speak with my wife's dutiful butler and adviser. You do have a great deal of experience in dealing with vampires, and I'd like to expand my understanding of the situation." Riley replied.

Walter stared back for a moment before his eyes drifted over to Daphne, she was eyeing Riley with an annoyed look that said she wasn't buying Riley's answer, but she offered Walter a nod, more then likely suspecting that Riley was more interested in devising ways to keep Daphne safe while she was dealing with these vampire attacks. Typical paranoia from Daphne's wife, something Daphne had often noted when mentioning her wife in conversation.

As everyone else finished departing, Riley's smirk slowly grew predatory.

"Why are you here?" Riley asked.

Walter stared back, unblinkingly. "I'm sorry?"

"Why are you here, Walter C. Dornez? You do an excellent job shielding your mind from telepathy. However… I can feel your emotions. I can feel what you feel. You know what is going on… now explain to me why it makes you so… excited?" Riley asked again, her eyes bleeding red as she began to circle the man.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." Walter responded, coolly.

"Feigning ignorance… that's fine… I have ways of making someone talk." Riley responded as she finished a full circuit around the man, and stared directly into his eyes.

"They call you the Angel of Death..." Riley hummed as her own dark wings unfolded from her body and stretched out, seemingly filling the room, and earning surprise from the man. Despite knowing of magic, and more then likely having heard of Riley before, seeing her like this was rare, despite her showing off her altered features in the presence of magicals. "But you're still only human. I am far more than that! You have something you want… tell me what it is? Tell me what you know? A man of your skills is quite valuable to someone like me. Tell me the truth… and perhaps, we can make a deal."

As the final words left her mouth, her eyes bled red, and her pupils became slitted, glowing brightly even in the evenly lit room.

Walter stared back, maintaining his composure, and yet, Riley could detect his unease. This was to be expected of course, from an experienced vampire hunter, who had also fought alongside Alucard in the past. His resilience was to be commended.

"**Tsukuyomi."** Riley uttered, as their eyes remained locked.

Walter visibly paled as he felt the world around him melt away, leaving the two standing on a barren expanse of land, with nothing but red skies, a red moon, and black clouds above him.

His body, and that of Riley's had become inverted in color.

"This is **Tsukuyomi**, and the world within is mine to command. You will tell me what I want to know, or you will suffer, unendingly." Riley growled out.

Walter's eyes drifted to and fro for several long moments, before he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"No one will ever know of what you speak within this illusion. As I said… a man of your talents could be quite the valuable asset to me. Tell me what I want to know, and I can perhaps, make your dreams a reality. You've heard of my powers, no? You've heard of the things I did during the fourth great ninja war. From endless slaughter to bringing the dead back to life. Work with me… and I can ensure your dreams become reality. Go against me… put my mate in danger… and I'll tear you limb from limb… for the rest of eternity." Riley commanded as she began to approach him.

Silence filled the illusion for several long moments, before finally, the butler spoke.

"They call themselves… Millennium. They're a group of Nazi survivors from World War II. They're plan is to initiate an unending war that will allow them to fight for the rest of time..."

-**Dragon Reserve****, ****Romania****. February 10****th**** 1999-**

A roar tore through the air, as three dozen dragon tamers, worked hard to subdue a Hungarian Horntail. The dragon was far larger then even the maximum size of it's species. Normally Horntails' only grew to around fifty feet long, this one was closer to seventy and was getting bigger each day.

All of the dragons were growing, and were getting more powerful as well. The reawakening of magic in the world, was doing wonders for them. They were getting bigger, stronger, and healthier. They were breeding quicker too.

Dragon reserves were becoming a ticking time bomb, when it came to the statute of secrecy. Their rapidly growing size and strength was increasing the likelihood of one being spotted by muggles, or encroaching onto muggle cities and causing major damage.

Riley herself stood atop the fencing of a pen, watching as the handlers worked to wrangle the aggravated dragon.

"**It wont be long now. Magic is roaring to life. The muggles wont be held in the dark for much longer."** Kurama noted.

"_No they wont. With Millennium planning to initiate an assault on London, I don't think the statute will survive such an incident." _Riley responded.

"**Do you intend to stop such an attack?"** Kurama inquired, curiously.

"_If I alert Millennium to the fact that I know what they're up to, they may change their plans. Walter didn't know where they were right now, and until I can find them, I have to keep my knowledge of their plans a secret."_ Riley responded.

"**And when you do find them?"** Kurama asked.

"_You see what I see Kurama. Magic is roaring to life, and magical creatures are surging back to the forefront of reality. The Statute of Secrecy is going to collapse soon. Our days of hiding from muggles is almost over. If I stop Millennium, something else will simply unveil our existence as a later date..."_ Riley responded.

"**But if you use them… you can control that unveiling."** Kurama finished her thought for her.

"_Precisely. Walter hasn't reported to them since becoming Daphne's butler. So they don't know about me, or the Legion. With Walter having sworn a magical oath to serve me… I can dictate what information slips out to the enemy. And control their movements through that information. There attack will cause catastrophic damage to London, and to Britain as a whole, and it'll unveil the existence of magic to the world. But… if I play my cards right, and handle this correctly… I can ensure that we rise to a position of power, unlike any seen in the world before."_ Riley continued, thoughtfully.

"**A dangerous play. But one that opens the possibility for something amazing. What's your end goal?" **Kurama asked.

"_The first true magical nation. With the fall of the old world, we can build anew. And from the ashes of that ruined world… I can set the foundation for my paradise."_ Riley finished her thought, as her eyes shown blood red, and her demonic blood began to boil.

With some of the mystery ebbed away, Riley set forth plans for the future. It would be a dangerous gamble, one that could cost them dearly, if she didn't plan accordingly. With Millennium's secret agent now in her pocket, and the allegiance of Britain's magical forces, the fall of the Statute of Secrecy, was now in her hands. The world would learn of magic, sooner, rather than later. But now… Riley had the ability to dictate that unveiling, and in turn, give rise to a magical nation unlike any the world had seen before it.

A nation, guided by magicals, and defended by the goddess of this world. A nation ready to face both coming apocalypses, without the need to hide any longer.

**-To Be Continued-**

_**Alright, there's the next chapter for you, a lot of setup and a lot going on, Millennium has made their opening strikes, and the events of Hellsing are set to begin very soon. Some of you may be starting to note how my use of the dates, is setting up events from crossovers, as they would occur semi naturally. I hope you're all having a good time, and I hope you all have happy holidays too. See you later with the next chapter. Ja Ne!**_


	15. 15: Foundation of a New World

_**Alright, here's the next chapter for you guys, hope everyone's still having a happy new year, and is enjoying themselves, I know that I most certainly am. The story picks up some speed this chapter, so please be sure to ask if there are any questions.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

Chapter 15: The Foundation of a New World.

**-Riley's Home, London, Britain. February 12th 1999-**

"You got time to talk?" Riley inquired as she approached Daphne.

"I'm needed for a meeting in a few minutes, so it'll have to be fast." Daphne responded, as she finalized the finishing touches on her wardrobe.

Riley nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing Daphne into **Kamui**.

Daphne glanced around and let out a sigh before turning to face Riley.

"I'm guessing this isn't gonna be quick." Daphne noted.

"Sorry. This is something private, and I don't want the others knowing about it." Riley responded, earning a very curious look from Daphne. Riley rarely kept things from her mates, and even more so, she never put confidence in one of them, and not the others. This was very unlike her.

"There is a situation developing, that will cause unprecedented changes to our way of life. The Statute of Secrecy is set to collapse soon, and I believe I know what'll be the cause of it." Riley began.

"What do you mean, the Statute is about to fall?" Daphne asked, her face filling with concern.

"Magic is roaring to life, at an incredible rate. Magical creatures are growing stronger, and are breeding more rapidly. I visited a dragon reserve the other day, and the dragons there are growing in size, and power. My fighting the Ten-Tails triggered an awakening in magic. Now we're seeing the results. Magic is coming alive like it never has before. We don't have much time left until something triggers our reveal to the muggle world. Something is going to cause it, regardless of my situation. However… I've recently come into information that would point towards an event that will trigger our reveal at a very specific time." Riley explained, garnering Daphne's full attention as she did.

"And there's nothing that can be done to stop the reveal?" Daphne pressed.

"I can stop my situation. But… even if I do… it'll only buy us weeks, maybe months until the reveal. In truth I'm not even certain the statute will hold until my situation occurs. But if it does, it'll collapse then." Riley answered, earning an uneasy sigh from Daphne, as she began to pace back and forth before her demonic lover, processing this information as she did.

"Alright… what's your situation?" Daphne asked after several moments.

"I know who's causing these vampire attacks. It's an organization called Millennium. They're Nazi survivors from the Second World War. They've developed a vampire army, one thousand strong. And their goal is to initiate a total collapse of society, triggering an unending series of wars, that they can fight in, for the rest of time. They plan on attacking London." Riley responded, causing Daphne to stop and turn a startled gaze towards Riley.

"How do you know this?" Daphne asked.

"I'm good at keeping my mates safe. What can I say. Regardless… I know what's coming, and I have access to a way to feed them false information. I don't know where they're striking from, so I can't retaliate just yet. But… I'm presented with an issue." Riley replied, her eyes locked with Daphne's.

"What kind of issue?" Daphne inquired.

"If I stop them, then the unveiling of our existence to the muggle world gets left to chance. If I let them attack first, and kill them in the field, I get to control our unveiling. I get to decide how the world gets it's first look at us. Me. The Legion." Riley answered.

Daphne was silent for several long moments as she stared at Riley. A cascade of emotions danced across her face, before realization set in, and Daphne slowly turned her gaze away from Riley and began to pace again. She began chewing on her thumbnail as she did, a sure sign of anxiety building up within her. It didn't take a genius to understand why Riley was confiding in Daphne with this. Fleur, and Katie would most definitely be against allowing these foes to attack London. Luna was hit or miss, depending on what she knew about possible futures. Kaede probably wouldn't care either way. Gaia was also hit or miss, despite being a generally good person, she was still a shinobi, so it wasn't a certainty on how she'd stand on this issue. Daphne didn't know Yugito well enough to make a call on what she'd say, and Artoria would vehemently be against such an attack, as it would not only be dishonorable, but also deceptive.

Daphne was ambitious, much like Gaia was. But Daphne also had a darker mentality then many of her other mates. She understood how the game of politics worked, and understood that backstabbing and political maneuvering was a way to get ahead in the world. Riley wasn't wrong in that with this information, she could control their unveiling, an event unlike any the world had seen before.

If Riley was right, and it was going to happen anyway, was it better if they could direct the course of events, or was it better to leave it as a mystery?

After nearly a full minute of nothing but silent pacing, Daphne stopped and turned her gaze towards Riley, meeting her demonic mate's eyes in the process.

"You'd let them attack London?" Daphne asked.

"If I was certain I could direct the course of events, and ensure that come the battles end, we were safe, then yes." Riley answered.

"What safety measures do you have in place to ensure that millions of people aren't lost? I know you can resurrect the dead, but have you ever tried to resurrect someone who's had their blood drunk by a vampire? Blood is the medium of the soul. If a vampire drains a person of blood, theoretically, they would be devouring their souls as well. Can you revive people if that happens to them?" Daphne inquired.

"To be entirely honest… I don't know. I'll have to test it out the next time they attack." Riley answered with a shrug.

"Okay… how exactly do you intend for this to benefit us? You must have a reason for taking such a risk? You'd only allow someone to inflict such damage on us, if you thought the rewards were more than worth it." Daphne asked.

"If our enemies plan on causing unprecedented chaos. Then they'll take out British Parliament, and the Royal Family. If they succeed, all that'll be left to rule the country is the ministry, and the military. The military will be severely weakened by their assault, leaving only the ministry of magic to be able to step in and try to establish order, along with the Legion." Riley answered, Daphne's eyes widening at the implication of Riley's words.

"You want to let the enemy assassinate the muggle government, and allow the magical one to take over? You don't just plan for this to be an unveiling, you plan on us taking power." Daphne realized.

"Yes. When the unveiling occurs, we'll be the minority, but we'll hold the majority of power. What do you think will happen when the UN realizes the power that I hold? I can easily annihilate an entire planet. What do you think will happen when they see what Shinobi can do? Fear will wash through the ranks of the muggle population and we'll be the ones, placed under their boot. Best case scenario, we're watched like criminals. Worst case scenario, they attack the magical populations out of fear. If we rise up and take command of Britain, there wont be anyone that can hold us down. The rest of the world may try to move against us, but at least we'll have home. I lived in a shinobi village that was ruled by muggles. They did all they could to seize power that was never theirs. I refuse to be someone's puppet. If it comes to that, I'll kill them all. I don't need anyone other than you, my mates, my friends, my family. If we do things my way though… we have a chance to rise from the ashes of this attack, as the first magical nation of the modern era." Riley replied, her voice filling with passion as she did.

Daphne was silent as she processed what Riley was saying. She fully understood what her wife was getting at. The civilians in Konoha had tried to ebb as much power as they could away from the shinobi, and they served as a prime example of what happens when you give those who don't work for power, command over such vast quantities of it. Daphne herself was happy in that regard to have such excellent advisers, and people to help keep her grounded. She had command over the most powerful vampire on the planet, and if she really wanted to, she could use him to cause all manner of chaos. It took a tempered hand to command such power, and a healthy respect for it. The closest muggles had come to such a temperament was with their nuclear weapons, and even then, it was only mutually assured destruction that kept them in check. If they had ways of ensuring that they could destroy their enemies without being destroyed in turn, they would do so without hesitation. Magicals commanded such power. S-Ranked individuals, could annihilate entire cities, just like nuclear weapons could.

When the unveiling occurred, Daphne suspected a new arms race would begin. Muggles would do whatever they could to militarize or control the magic at their disposal. Britain's muggle government was no different.

The Wizengamot had a healthy respect for Riley, and she had fostered good relationships with many of the members there, but how would those ties fare when the Statute was broken? How much power would the Ministry have after such a thing occurred? It was possible that British Parliament would try and seize command of magical society, triggering hostilities in the old pureblood lines, who hated being told they needed to change by progressive muggleborns. How well would they fare, when it was the state that demanded such things?

In fact, there existed a strong possibility that this could trigger a civil war, not just in Britain but everywhere. Wars between magicals, who wanted their independence, and muggles who thought they could control them.

That line of thought though, led to the troubling question, what to do?

If she allowed Riley to go forward with her plans, then the muggle government would be destroyed, leaving only the magical one to rule. They would command the muggles of the country as the only source of power and stability. That may also trigger some form of conflict. Then again… if part of the unveiling involved the Legion, or Hellsing, or the Ministry being the ones to stop Millennium, to save the innocent people, and secure victory for them, that may win people over, and give them an opening to start on a high note.

Ten steps back, to leap forward a dozen yards. that's what Riley's plan was.

"This would be a risky endeavor. But you wouldn't suggest something like this unless you were sure. So… what do you plan on doing if you succeed? Who is going to be running things? The Ministry? The Legion? …You?" Daphne asked, pinning Riley with a focused gaze.

Riley let out a soft laugh at that. "I've never really cared much for ruling. I'll lead, if people want to follow, but I'm not interested in babysitting. I'm a warrior. I'm a fighter. I'm good at politics, and I'm good at playing the game, but a desk was never where I've wanted to find myself. It's not where I want to be."

"And yet there are so many people that would follow you into hell Riley. Myself included. You're a natural born leader, whether you wanted to be in charge or not." Daphne responded earning a soft smile and a nod of recognition towards the sentiment. "So… if not you, than who?"

"I was thinking a change of pace was needed. Not the ministry, or the Legion. In my mind there's only one person fit for the job. It wont be easy. And I know not everyone will fall in line immediately. To me, only one person can handle this kind of task, because she's done it before." Riley answered, causing Daphne's eyes to go wide, as she realized just who Riley was suggesting.

"You intend to return Artoria to the throne?" Daphne asked, making sure she was understanding her wife correctly.

"Who better?" Riley responded with a smile and a shrug.

"The return of King Arthur. To unite the land in a time of chaos..." Daphne mused as she turned her gaze away from Riley, and stared off while pondering the idea. After a few moments, a smirk touched at her lips and she turned her gaze back to Riley.

"You're sure about this?" Daphne asked.

"She'd have Hashirama, and Madara there to advise her. She'd have me to help enforce her rule. She's already seen as a leader by the Legion, Itachi trusts her wisdom and respects her command. Voldemort and the Dark faction do as well. She holds a position of power in the Ministry as the last of the Pendragon line and revealing her true identity to them wont be difficult to prove. Not with my support, the support of Lucius, and Excalibur in her possession." Riley answered earning a thoughtful look from Daphne as she continued to ponder the possibilities of this path.

"The way I see it Daph, we only have two choices. We either leave Britain and build our own home somewhere new. Or we take over. Otherwise, it'll be the Leaf all over again, just on a global scale. And the end will be the same too." Riley continued.

"I know. If the muggles try and enforce their will upon us, it'll lead to war. The muggles will have the advantage until people like you get involved. The death tolls will be catastrophic." Daphne stated, envisioning it all in her head.

"Unless we take over. Unless we force them to acknowledge our place in the world. If we hold Britain, then we will control our own fates, and we'll be justified if the rest of the world tries anything. We wont be the minority. We'll be our own sovereign nation." Riley said, turning her gaze out over the expanse of **Kamui**.

"I don't like it. It's risky, and it invites chaos and bloodshed upon our people. But I can't help but think you're right. The civilians in the Elemental Nations are proof that humans will do anything to control power, even if it's power that they have no earthly right to command. They'd seek to wield us like puppets, and they'd turn you into a bargaining chip. The government wouldn't stand with us. They'd use us. Maybe not right away. Maybe not even in the stretch of a generation. But one day, we'd be placed under their thumbs. People without magic, would command those with it. We'd be, at best, their pawns, and at worst, their slaves." Daphne concluded, earning a nod of agreement from Riley.

"That's exactly what I think too." Riley stated.

"Alright… you wanted to talk to me about this, I understand why. And I get why you're not talking to the other about it. Who else are you going to bring into this?" Daphne asked.

"No one. Just me and you. I'll set everything up. I'll put the pieces into place." Riley answered.

"What do you want me to do?" Daphne inquired.

"Keep pushing forward. Go on as if this conversation never happened. When the time is right, I know you'll know what to do." Riley answered, earning a slow nod from Daphne.

As Riley moved to send Daphne back to the real world, it slowly dawned on her that this wasn't just about Riley laying out her fears for what she thought was going to happen. She was also asking permission. And in a way, Daphne had given it.

-**London, England. February 17****th**** 1999-**

Riley stood atop the roof of a building, her eyes glued on the sky. A few moments earlier she had felt two powerful presences, enter into her passive sensory area, which covered all of the British Isles, and parts of Europe. Something was out there, and getting closer, and she recognized what it was.

Her old friends from Fairport. The two men in green and black bodysuits.

With a sigh, Riley activated her **Byakugan **and rose up into the sky. She shrouded herself in her dementor cloak, and obscured her face as she came to rest, high in the lower atmosphere.

Once she'd found a place she was comfortable with, somewhere above the English channel, she let her powers flow freely, triggering the rapid buildup of a powerful thunderstorm.

Riley floated quietly in the darkness of the storm, which quickly began producing lightning, as she waited for the two that were more then likely looking for her.

Just as she suspected, not long after the storm had been generated, two green dots could be seen flying through the storm, headed for her location.

They soon closed in on her, coming to halt a dozen meters or so, in front of her.

"What the hell do you want?" Riley demanded from beneath her shroud, the roaring of the winds doing nothing to hinder her voice from reaching them.

"We're not here to fight. We just wanna talk." Hal called out to her, having a hard time speaking up over the torrential winds within the storm, or the chaotic lightning storm the raged around them.

"I don't like being searched for. Speak you mind, and pray that I find your words of worth." Riley responded, holding up a hand, causing the storm to quiet down a great deal, and the winds to slow, allowing them to speak.

The two men shared a glance with one another, before slowly floating towards her. They stopped when they were about twelve feet away.

"We work for an organization known as the Green Lantern Corp. Ours bosses asked us to speak with you, to ask you about your motives for being here." Hal stated after a tense moment of silence.

"I live here. On this planet. What more motives could you need?" Riley responded.

"We know what you are. We know you're not from around here." John said to her.

"Oh really? Than say it. Say what I am." Riley demanded, causing the two to share another glance. She was curious to know if these two could break past the **Fidelus**, and say that she was an archdemon.

"You're… Prime Evil Earth." Hal stated after a moment of silence.

Riley stared at them blankly, her head slowly tilting. Seconds ticked by as both men tensed, an unnerving chuckle filled the air and grew in intensity.

Riley broke out into full blown laughter, at the thought. Prime Evil. A designation given to the dark entity that was meant to tear a planet out of it's space in reality and take it into the dark realms with it. A demonic ruler meant to conquer worlds.

Riley found it amusing that they would consider such a thing. If they knew exactly what she was, if they knew she was an archdemon, they would know that she was more inclined to destroy the earth, than to conquer it. Greater Fiends, Greater Devils, and their Arch-level equivalents, those were the conquerors. Demons didn't have the capacity for conquest, only destruction. Riley was unique, but they didn't know that. If they knew the truth, then they would never consider her a Prime Evil.

Interestingly enough, Riley actually knew which creature was the true Prime Evil Earth. The Archdevil that had commanded the devilish army during the Fourth Great Ninja War. The one Mito and Obito aligned themselves with. If Luna's and Kane's vision of the future was accurate and the events of the Day of Wrath were as well, than that would mean that, that devil was the true Prime Evil Earth, not Riley.

"What's so funny?" Hal demanded, narrowing his eyes at her.

"That you think I'm Prime Evil Earth. Look, I'm flattered and all, but I just live here. I don't care about this world as a whole, nor do I have any desire to take it into the dark realms. I prefer being on this side of that great divide. So you can tell your bosses they don't need to worry. I'm not here for the Earth, or humanity." Riley responded, continuing to chuckle to herself as she did.

Both men shared an uncertain look with one another, more then likely not quite believing her.

"Look guys, if you're really interested in stopping Prime Evil Earth, I think I know who it is. Look into a special S like symbol, that's tied to the Archdevil who's got his eyes locked onto the Earth. If your organization wants to fight him and stop him, by all means, feel free. If you win, that's one less headache for me to deal with." Riley responded, drawing the symbol in the air with **Flagrate**.

Both men shared another glance with one another before refocusing their attention on her.

"If you're not here for the Earth, what are you here for?" John asked.

"I'm here for me. Found some beautiful people to settle down and start a life with. Nothing more, nothing less. If anything, I plan on one day taking them away from this world to live in a paradise of my own making, so as I said, the Earth itself, and the rest of humanity is of little concern to me. So long as they stay out of my way, and keep from hurting those I care for, I wont destroy them, and one day, they'll be rid of me." Riley responded, shrugging towards the end, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Settle down? Your kind doesn't 'settle down'! You're conquerors and destroyers. Monsters, through and through. Of all the evil in the universe, there is none greater than your kind." John said to her, his voice filled with disbelief.

"I'm unique. What can I say. I do what I want, and I defy convention. Let's put it this way, you know the phrase, 'happy wife, happy life'? Well, it applies to me as well. I make my loved ones happy, and they make me happy. All I have to do is resist my natural urge to cleanse this world of all life, and slaughter everyone that even so much as gets on my nerves. Believe me, it's not easy. But I prefer a life of love, and happiness, to resentment, fear, and suffering. From my point of view, there are three categories of people in this universe. There's mine. My enemies, and the nobodies. The human race? They're nobodies. Not my friends, not my enemies. You and yours, you're nobodies, I don't know you, I don't care about you. You're nothing. I kill my enemies, and my loved ones know that. So long as people don't make themselves my enemies, I wont go out of my way to kill them. And just in case you're wondering, I fill my need for bloodlust by slaughtering the wretches of this world. Murderers, rapists, child molesters, people who talk in the theater. I live my own life, and I am more then what I am. Like I said during our last meeting, you stay out of my way, you let me live my life, and I wont hurt you. You want other people to be safe from me? Teach them to do the same. That's it. Any other questions boys?" Riley explained to the two, folding her arms over her chest as she did.

The two again shared a glance with one another.

"Who are you?" Hal asked.

Riley was silent for a moment as she thought of an answer. She pondered the idea of a name for a few seconds before settling on something simple, and tied to what they already knew about her

"My true name is unimportant to you. If you need to call me something, call me Venator." Riley responded.

"Venator?" John parroted back, sharing a glance with Hal.

"It means hunter in Latin. Stay out of my way boys. And don't come looking for me again. I don't like being looked for." Riley said to the two, before suddenly vanishing in a burst of speed, disappearing into the clouds, and then using the **Hiraishin **to flash away.

-**Oa, February 18****th**** 1999-**

"What do you think this all means?" Hal asked of the guardians. He and John had just finished delivering their report to the Guardians, and had now stood by for nearly ten minutes while they discussed the two's findings.

"A creature such as this one, yet its more interested in a family life? Such a thing is unheard of." One of the Guardians responded.

"Perhaps not so. I believe when she referenced the human phrase 'happy wife, happy life' she was indeed referring to someone close to her. A lover more then likely. In the past, these creatures have altered their normal routines, in favor of more dynamic pursuits. Perhaps what this creature gets from it's mate, means far more to it then conquering the planet." Another offered aloud.

"I do not like this. The insinuation here, is that a powerful dark creature, has taken an interest in a human of all things, and has claimed it as it's mate. It refrains from gruesome slaughter, so long as it's mate continues to provide what it desires. That is a lot of burden to place onto something as short lived as a human being." One of the Guardians noted.

"Yet we have seen humans carry such burdens before. What concerns me isn't this mysterious human's longevity, but more so their temperament. This creature destroyed an entire city in a blind fury, due to it's offspring being harmed. Meaning that despite how much control it seems to have over it's own rage. It will slip into violence at a moments notice. Such is unspeakable power, now wielded by a human being, who we have no way of knowing, what could be going on in their minds, and we have no way of easily identifying. This one human holds the key to the world's destruction. The insinuation based on the saying, would identify this human as a woman. All it would take is for this woman to have one lapse in judgment, one bad day, and unleash catastrophe upon the Earth." Ganthet stated.

"What do you want us to do?" John asked.

"And what about this other threat, the Archdevil with the S symbol? What are we gonna do about him?" Hal inquired as well.

"Return to your sectors and focus on your duties for now. We will investigate this claim and prepare a suitable course of action. I would advise that you prepare yourselves though. If there is any validity to this beings warning, then we face an Archdevil. Such is a foe we have rarely had the misfortune to deal with. Be ready for when we summon you again." Ganthet ordered, earning nods from the two men, who quickly turned to depart, leaving the Guardians in silence as they pondered these new revelations, and what they could mean for the Green Lantern Corp, and the universe at large.

-**Riley's Home, England. February 19****th**** 1999-**

Fleur let out a pleasured sigh as she pulled Riley into an embrace. The two had been joined at the hip for nearly an hour now.

Fleur was curious about what was going on with Riley today. All day today, Riley had spent the day with Fleur, hell Riley even followed her to work, and paid the bank manager a serious bride to let Riley hang out while Fleur worked. It was a bit odd, having Riley follow her around, and immediately upon completion of her day's work, Riley rushed her out the door and took her to Paris where the two spent the latter half of the evening enjoying a wonderful dinner, and then Riley took her to walk the streets, enjoying the cool winter night, and fresh snowfall.

Truly it was as romantic a night as Fleur had ever experienced, and now the two found themselves in a side room, away from the rest of the house, away from the rest of Riley's mates, where they made love. It was now close to midnight, and Fleur couldn't help but wonder what had gotten into Riley, that made her so romantic all of sudden, and why was it directed solely at Fleur today?

Riley rarely directed her full attention towards one of her mates, usually only doing so on birthdays, anniversaries, or other special occasions, but for the life of her, Fleur couldn't figure out what made today so special.

Even the sex itself, was far more passionate and loving then usual. Riley was quite obviously in a much more sensual mood, and not once did Fleur note the change in her mate's eyes, when she would become highly aroused. Riley was in full control over herself, and was up to something. Fleur just didn't know what it was. A part of her did wonder, if it might have something to do with Daphne's recent stint at the Hellsing Manor. For the past few days, Daphne had been spending far more time there, then usual, which was the only thing that stood out as an interesting occurrence these past few days.

"What's on your mind, my love?" Fleur inquired, finally deciding to just ask.

"Giving you a night to remember." Riley responded, holding her tightly in a powerful, yet comfortable embrace.

"Why?" Fleur asked.

"Do I need a reason?" Riley asked in response.

"No. But you have one." Fleur noted with a smile, as she rested her chin on Riley's shoulder and ran her hands gently through Riley's long dark hair.

"What if I told you I was buttering you up, so that when I tell you what I want, you're more likely to say yes." Riley responded, earning a giggle from Fleur.

"Well we have gone all ze way, we're engaged, I already live wiz you. What more could you need to ask of me?" Fleur inquired, smiling as she did.

"We're engaged… so… are you ready to start a family yet?" Riley asked, causing Fleur to stop, her whole body tensing as she finally understood the reason for the day's events.

"You want us to have a baby Riley?" Fleur asked, pulling away, and locking eyes with her demonic lover. The loving smile on her face, and the blooming of her allure, was more than enough body language to reveal how the Veela felt about such an offer. Still Riley answered.

"I do. I know you wanted to wait until we were married, but I figured, with it being in June even if you got pregnant now, the baby wouldn't be here by then. Plus we'd get to see if this would put a stop to my lustful episodes. Keep things safer for Artoria and Yugito too. I know I'm ready. I'm just waiting for the moment you say yes." Riley explained to her, earning a nod from Fleur as she turned thoughtful. It was just like Riley to always be thinking. Rationally, it was a good way to go about it, because then they'd know if Riley's episodes would stop, which would reduce the risk to everyone else, including the two women Riley was busy courting, who, as far as Fleur knew, were nowhere near experienced enough to endure Riley's monthly lustful outbursts.

"Ze pitter-patter of little feet. Ze playful giggling. Ze crying. Ze whining. Ze constant need for attention. Are you ready for zat?" Fleur inquired.

"So long as I'm with you, I'm ready for anything." Riley responded.

"You know… I have dreamed about zis since I first learned zat you were my mate. Ze day we would be married. Ze day we would have children. I have always wanted zese zings from you, Riley. Just zinking about it, fills my stomach with butterflies. Marriage, children, our life togezer. You and me, and all of my sisters… I cannot imagine a better life." Fleur offered, earning a loving smile from Riley, in response to her words. The two shared a passionate kiss before Fleur continued to speak.

"You know, so often we never get ze chance for everyzing to go as planned. I love zat I get to prepare all ze aspects of my future wiz you. Zat we can do zings in ze order zat we want. But, if I am being honest… I am excited at ze prospect of having a family wiz you, Riley. And I cannot wait to start it. Today has been so wonderful, and we will soon be married. If you want to start our family now, zen I will not have to wait as long to meet our child." Fleur responded, earning a beaming smile from Riley.

"So… how do we wanna do this? Delicate and passionate, making it a night to remember, or dirty, rough, pig sex, that if ever brought up, will leave us both blushing?" Riley inquired, earning a giggle from Fleur as she leaned in to kiss her demonic mate.

"Why don't we just see where zis goes?" Fleur suggested, during a moment of separation.

"Sounds good to me, my love." Riley responded, as they returned to kissing.

Deep within Riley's body, Kurama roused from his slumber, his gaze turned towards the shadow of Riley's titanic soul, and the equally massive soul of her demonic child, in The Darkness.

"**And so it begins..."** Kurama hummed.

"**The Age of Man has ended. Her brood shall swallow the Earth." **The Darkness responded, with a demonic growl of glee.

"_**You may not be Prime Evil Earth, Riley. But that doesn't mean one of your children wont be. Even if we beat this Archdevil. Chances are very good, one of your children will take it's place."**_ Kurama thought to himself as he turned his gaze away from Riley's soul and out across the shadow bathed landscape of her inner mind.

"_**If the world must fall, father, than let it be into the hands of Riley's children. They are a far better fate than this planet could have hoped for. Than again… who knows… maybe something will change her mind, and Riley will take this world as her own? I guess we'll just have to see."**_ Kurama finished his musing with a silent prayer, for his father's sake, before returning to his slumber.

**-Riley's Home, London. February 20th 1999-**

"Well look who's finally made it back." Katie noted with a chuckle as Fleur slunk into the room, at around eight in the morning.

Most of Riley's mates were busy getting ready for their day's work, and had most definitely noted the absence of the Veela the night prior. While Riley had kept her mate's occupied with her clones, they all knew she wasn't really there, and was most likely with Fleur.

Katie's statement drew the attention of the other women, with Luna still laying in bed, Daphne busy getting dressed, and Kaede in the bathroom, drowsily staring at herself in the mirror. All three of them turned from their respective tasks, and took note of the bashful looking Fleur standing quite awkwardly near the entrance of the room.

"So… spill the beans, what'd you get up to last night, princess?" Katie inquired with a smile, crossing the room to stand before her fellow mate. Riley so rarely spent the night alone with one of her mates in particular that it usually sparked interest in the rest when she did. Of course this had happened enough that most of them had memorized various birthdays and even special anniversaries that Riley liked to celebrate, such as first meeting, first date, first proclamation of love, or even on days that were harder for them, such as the anniversary of both Katie's and Luna's mothers' deaths. So when Riley broke pattern, it usually led to some speculation and curiosity.

Fleur blushed and smiled as she thought of the prior night. Though it truth, it didn't feel like a last night sort of thing, as she had barely slept at all, spending most the night, having all sorts of fun times with Riley, spanning the spectrum, from rough and intense sex, to passionate love-making, to long hours of cuddling and talking about their future together. It was honestly the most memorable night Fleur could remember when it came to her soul mate, and she would most definitely be riding high off that blissful night for many weeks to follow.

Quickly she crossed the room, stepping passed Katie and sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes locked onto the floor.

Her actions earned even greater curiosity from her fellow mates, as they all gathered around, eager to hear what had transpired, and why the normally composed, and elegant Veela was so bashful and grinning like a love-struck fool.

"Riley and I… we decided to start a family." Fleur stated after several long seconds of silence. Slowly she lifted her gaze to her surrounding mates, and found each one of them surprised by her proclamation.

"So you two were…?" Daphne began.

Fleur quickly nodded, and blushed brightly as the memories came flooding in with incredible clarity.

"And now you're…?" Katie continued, her face lighting up with excitement.

"I zink so." Fleur responded, as tears started to well up in her eyes.

Katie let out a squeal of joy and flew into Fleur's arms, the two embracing as Fleur let out a joyful laugh.

"Wow…" Daphne muttered, smiling and taking a seat next to Fleur. Luna was quiet, as she crawled across the bed hugged Fleur from behind, happy for her fellow mate, and for Riley.

Kaede watched the rest of them curiously, tilting her head slightly. "So you're pregnant now?" She asked after several seconds passed by.

"I do not know for certain. I wont for a little while. But I zink so. I… felt when it happened. It was the most wonderful feeling I have ever felt..." Fleur responded, raising her gaze to meet with Kaede's.

"What'd it feel like, I mean… did you guys do it the normal way, or what?" Katie asked, pulling away and resting on her haunches, placing her hands on Fleur's knees and staring up at her, beaming.

"We did a lot. Normal Riley in zat sense. But… when it happened… I felt her magic flow into me. Almost like it was filling me up. For a moment… it felt like we were one. I cannot explain it better zen zat. Riley said it was done. Zat it would be quicker zen a normal pregnancy by a few months. It will still be a few weeks before I know for certain but… I do not zink zis is somezing she would mess up." Fleur responded.

"Wow! Congratulations!" Katie said with a happy smile, earning one in reply from Fleur.

Kaede watched as Katie stood back up and pulled Fleur into an embrace, cradling Fleur's head to her chest, and resting her chin atop it. The two held each other, while the rest of the ladies stared on at them, each with their own whirlwind of thought filling their minds.

"_So you've finally decided to start a family, Riley. I'm happy for you. There will be a lot of pain and suffering going forward, but let these moments of happiness be enough to keep you grounded, and keep you sane." _Luna thought to herself.

"_The world finds itself in a precarious place. I hope you know what you're getting into Riley. With the fall of the statute, any number of things could go wrong."_ Daphne quietly pondered. She wore a happy smile, but on the inside she was still focused on the major happenings of the world, outside of Riley's harem. The introduction of a child did little to alter those events, the only thing it did change, was how Riley might react to future events. She was going to be a true parent now. With her own baby to raise, how would she handle the changes that were coming?

"_Riley and Fleur are going to have a baby. Does that mean that Riley is ready for children? Does she want them with me? Shouldn't dwell on it. Don't focus on it. Be happy. Be happy for them." _Kaede told herself, doing her best to not be jealous about Riley starting a family with one of her other mates.

Despite not thinking much of herself in terms of her motherly abilities, Kaede did want children with Riley. She was not at all confident about the endeavor but she did want them. Some nights she even dreamed about having children with Riley. So to know that Riley was ready, and was starting a family with Fleur, it left Kaede feeling a little jealous. But she knew she shouldn't be, and more than that, she was afraid of being jealous around Riley's mates. Jealousy had ruined her life already. This was her second chance, and she wasn't going to let jealousy ruin it again. She just kept telling herself to be happy for them. Be happy, and the day will come. Maybe sooner than she expected.

Almost as if on cue with her thoughts, Kaede felt arms wrap around her, one sliding around her stomach, the other under her arm and across her chest.

She felt the familiar bust of her demonic lover press against her back, as Riley rested her head on Kaede's shoulder. Kaede let out a contend sigh as she melted into Riley's embrace with a smile.

"_See… no reason to be jealous. She wont forget you." _Kaede thought to herself with a gentle smile.

"So… how long until you and I start making babies?" Riley whispered into her ear, playfully nibbling on it, as she did. Being in contact with her half-demon mate, and able to read her mind, Riley knew she had to ensure that Kaede's natural jealousy didn't rear it's ugly head. She didn't want any of her mates to feel like they needed to be jealous of each other. Anything she was willing to give to one, she would give to the others, if given the time.

Kaede blushed at that, not expecting the question.

"Well I… Maybe someday…" Kaede mumbled out, trying not to giggle as Riley began kissing at her neck.

Kaede's actions drew the attention of the rest of the women.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't miss baby-maker herself. You just send in Fleur first to get the hard part out of the way, and then sneak in, pretending like we wouldn't notice?" Katie inquired, rising to her feet and facing Riley.

"Well if Kaede wasn't so ticklish, it would have worked." Riley replied with a smirk, resting her chin on Kaede's shoulder and swaying back and forth, while holding her.

"So Fleur's pregnant?" Daphne inquired.

"Yep. Should be. We'll know for certain in a few days." Riley responded.

"Well congratulations." Daphne said, earning a smirk from Riley.

"Yeah, congrats." Katie offered.

"Congrats." Luna offered as well, mimicking Riley's actions with Kaede, on Fleur.

"Thanks ladies. Some time soon I need to have a sit down with each of you so we can discuss stuff like this. I wanna know your thoughts on kids, marriage, and the like. I know that I definitely want to marry all of you, and that I definitely want at least one kid with each of my ladies. Preferably, I'd like to be married before any babies show up, but as soon as we exchange 'I do's' I don't care if we pop out a baby the very next day." Riley offered to the group, pulling away from Kaede and taking up position next to her. Riley kept an arm draped over Kaede's shoulder and pulled her into her side where the Diclonius accepted the affectionate gesture and melded into position next to Riley.

She earned blushes or bashful looks from her mates, which caused Riley's smile to grow.

A few moments of silence passed before finally, Katie turned her attention back towards Fleur.

"So… any thoughts on a name yet?" Katie inquired, with just the right amount of cheek, earning a giggle from Fleur.

"No. Not yet. We still need to see if I am actually pregnant or not. So for not it is just waiting." Fleur responded, earning a nod from Katie.

"Well, the moment you know for sure, we need to celebrate." Katie suggested, earning a nod of agreement from Luna.

"Well I look forward to it." Fleur replied, her eyes flitting to meet with Riley's.

Riley's gaze was filled with happiness and serenity. Being with her mates, always had a way of calming her down, and letting her be at peace.

The world was changing, but that didn't mean that Riley was gonna stop living. Whether the statute fell or not, she would continue on with her beloved family, and live the life she was meant to live.

-**Delacour Estate, Southern France. ****March ****15****th**** 1999-**

"What do you think Fleur is so excited about?" Gabrielle inquired, speaking with Riley in her native tongue.

"Well I'm sure we'll find out quite soon." Riley responded, dusting off her french, and adding a smirk. Gabrielle narrowed her eyes at Riley, knowing full well that her soon-to-be sister-in-law, knew the truth.

The two were sat on a couch in one of the sitting rooms within the luxurious Delacour estate. Across from the two sat Jean Delacour, whom had a sneaking suspicion he knew why Fleur wanted to talk with them, and why she was currently off somewhere private with her mother.

"How have the two of you been? Fleur is often so busy planning the wedding, that she has had little time to talk about other matters." Jean inquired.

"We've been good, great really. Lot's of talk about where we'll go on our honeymoon, and what we'll do once we're married. Aside from that though, everything's sort of business as usual." Riley responded.

"Any thoughts on which of your families she'll be marrying into? I understand that your first wife married into Slytherin house." Jean inquired.

"You're right. I've put a lot of thought into that, considering what would be best for her, and after a while I decided that given she was my first love, and with how long we've been together, I decided I wanted her to marry into the Uchiwa clan." Riley responded, earning a nod of acceptance from Jean and smile from Gabrielle.

"Aww, did she get all excited when you told her you wanted her to join your ancestral family?" Gabrielle asked with a smirk.

"Oh yes. Blushed and giggled, and I think she got a bit teary eyed." Riley replied earning a chuckle from father and daughter.

Right about then, Riley felt Fleur's excitement shoot through the roof from across their bond. She immediately heard the clattering of footsteps as her beloved mate raced down to find her.

"_I'm guessing that means we're expecting." _Riley hummed to herself with a smirk, rising to her feet, right as the doors to the room opened and Fleur rushed in, flying into Riley's arms where they met with a passionate kiss.

Both Jean and Gabrielle shared a look with one another, as a smiling Apolline Delacour followed her into the room.

"So… it worked?" Riley inquired, holding Fleur in her arms.

Fleur nodded, teary-eyed and grinning.

"Good. You want to tell them?" Riley inquired, earning another nod from Fleur as Riley released her from their embrace.

"Papa, Gabby… I'm pregnant." Fleur offered to the two of them.

Gabrielle was quickly on her feet and embraced her sister. "Congratulations! I am so happy for you!"

She was followed by her father whom also shared a hug with his eldest daughter. "That is wonderful news, my dear. You are going to make an excellent mother."

"Thank you papa, Gabby. Thank you both so much, for everything." Fleur whispered, now openly crying.

Riley watched the exchange with a smile, happy to be able to experience this moment, and happy to have such wonderful people in her life.

"**Now you get to go and tell your family about this. Wonder who's gonna cry more, Kushina, Madara, Sirius, or Hashirama?"** Kurama hummed to himself, earning a chuckle from the demoness.

Riley was quickly pulled into conversation by the Delacours as they asked about baby names, plans going forward, and the like. It was be an eventful day, one quickly repeated, when the two returned to Britain and let the rest of the family know.

-**Leaky Cauldron, London, England. March 16****th**** 1999-**

"Cheers!" Came the chorus from Riley's friends. The clattering the mugs sounded throughout the tavern, as they enjoyed a night of merriment and revelry.

"So… any thoughts on names yet?" Draco inquired, to Riley.

"Well I let Fleur decide. She thinks it'll be a girl. But she settled on names she liked either way. Gabriel if it's a boy, and Lucille if it's a girl." Riley responded, earning a nod from her friend.

Whisper broke out from those around her, mulling over the names, some of Riley's gal pals were clustered around Fleur, plying her with questions.

"Any thoughts on naming a godfather, or a godmother?" Theo asked.

"Yeah actually, since Fleur got to name the child, I got to decide on the godparents. I asked Uncle Remus if he'd be the Godfather, since he helped raise me. As for the godmother, I haven't decided yet." Riley answered.

"Nervous at all?" Crabbe asked.

"Nah. If I can keep you lot in line, then a baby should be no issue." Riley replied, earning a playful chorus of jeers from her friends, as laughter broke out amongst them.

"Every day it seems to we get further and further away from when we kids. Can you guys believe all the crap we got into back at Hogwarts." Theo noted, earning a many nods, or bewildered looks from the rest of the gang.

"I still have nightmares about second year. That just straight-up sucked." Tracey noted, earning a multitude of sighs, especially from Hermione, and Ginny.

"We've come a long way guys. And it's been a helluva ride." Riley began, rising to her feet and drawing everyone's attention to her.

Riley's eyes flitted across the room, taking in the many faces of her longtime friends.

"I'd like to make a toast. To the bonds that'll never be broken, and to adventures we'll never forget." Riley proclaimed, garnering a chorus of cheers from the room as everyone raised their mugs.

Smiles and cheers echoed throughout the room, as Riley met the gaze of each one of her friends, dedicating this moment to memory. The optimist within her hoped that there would be many nights like this to come. The pragmatist though, knew that with the coming storm, such moments of levity would become harder and harder to come by.

For now, they would enjoy themselves, because in the days to come, the world would change, and Riley knew that she was going to end up right in the middle of it all.

-**Later that night, Riley's Home, London, England-**

"A Great-Great Grandfather. You're getting old brother." Tobirama noted.

"Hey that would make you a Great-Great-Granduncle." Hashirama responded, earning a thoughtful look from his younger brother.

"Yep. You old farts are gonna be around long enough to add several more 'greats' onto those titles, knowing my genes." Riley mused, earning a snort of amusement from Tobirama, and a chuckle from Hashirama.

Riley found herself, currently surrounded by her family members, many of her children, her grandparents, uncles, her mother, godfather, her sister, Remus, Shisui, Kakashi, and Artoria. Not long after her toast, Riley had left the Leaky Cauldron to return home and enjoy a second celebration here, leaving Fleur to bask in the spotlight, alongside the rest of her fellow mates. By now, they had told everyone that Fleur was pregnant, meaning it wouldn't be long before Riley read about it in the papers.

She was also expecting to receive a visit from Gaia in the not too distant future, and she'd was more then likely going to be talking about it with Yugito during their next date.

"Well if you end up with Yugito, and Artoria, and you have a child with each other them, that would be eight kids." Kushina noted, her words drew a blush from Artoria, luckily though, no one seemed to notice how red her face got, well no one except Riley whom immediately threw a lustful smirk in her direction, furthering Artoria's embarrassment.

"Wow… that's quite the brood." Madara hummed, earning a nod of agreement from Kaguya.

"Any plans for you to mother any children, Riley?" Remus inquired.

"Oh definitely. I give them one baby each, they give me one baby each, sounds fair." Riley responded, earning thoughtful, surprised, or downright dumbstruck looks from those around her. Also Artoria's face reddened even further at the thought of that.

"Sixteen kids. Wow pup." Sirius whistled.

"That's eight times being pregnant..." Kushina muttered, dumbstruck.

"Hey it's not the same for me. I could turn my own womb into it's own collapsed space, meaning I could be pregnant right now, and none of you would notice it." Riley responded, earning many curious and pointed looks from her family, which caused her to giggle.

"You're not pregnant too, are you?" Kushina asked.

"No, not yet. Maybe later though. Sometime in the not too distant future." Riley replied, earning a sigh of relief from Kushina, who wasn't quite sure if she was ready for that, just yet.

Chats continued well into the night, as the family discussed the newest addition as well as what the future would hold.

**-Northern England, April 1st 1999-**

Shot's rang out as two men raced away from a burning theater.

One turned and tried to fire back only for a bullet to pass straight through his kneecap sending him screaming to the ground.

The other kept running but came to a halt when he felt a sheering pain tear into his stomach. His eyes went wide as a shadow covered his gaze, and demonic chuckling filled his ears.

"You've been a very bad boys. Running around, eating innocent people. Now I have to punish you." The No-Life King chuckled with a toothy grin.

Before his captured target could utter a response Alucard gnashed his teeth and tore into his prey's throat, drinking in his blood and memories.

Once through he tossed the body aside and approached the downed vampire who was trying to crawl into a back alley.

"Oh… now where are you scurrying off to? Not so brave when your target fights back, are you?" Alucard chuckled darkly, firing a shot that took off the downed vamp's hand.

His scream tore through the air, as Alucard stepped over him, placing his boot onto the vampire's back.

The last thing the murdering vampire saw was Daphne and Walter stepping out of the shadows of the alley he had just tried to escape into, both staring down at him with cold, uncaring gazes.

A gunshot tore through the air, and the downed vampire collapsed, lifeless.

"Did you learn anything?" Daphne inquired to her servant.

"No. Nothing of use, my master. These little pups were changed much the same as the others, former criminals, caught by faceless entities, and turned against their will. Starved for blood, and then unleashed to cause mayhem and chaos." Alucard noted with a dark chuckle.

"These attacks are becoming more frequent, and the body count is rising." Walter noted, glancing towards the flaming theater building.

"Yes. Our enemy is growing far bolder with each attack. It's only a matter of time before one of these attacks occurs on a much larger scale. A whole village or town. We need answers, and quickly." Daphne noted, turning and heading off, followed closely by her two subordinates. As they moved away, aurors began to arrive to clean up the mess and deal with any witnesses.

"_Riley was right. This is getting worse and worse. If this keeps up, someone is going to let it slip that vampires are real. And that is going to lead to questions, difficult ones." _Daphne thought to herself as she came to a halt and motioned for her subordinates to place their hands on her shoulder. Once they did, she **Apparated** the three of them away, back to the Hellsing Manor.

**-Northern Ireland. April 16th 1999-**

Daphne and Walter stood at the outskirts of a small town, both were overlooking the town, taking in the quiet, and overwhelming feeling of dread that emanated from it.

"Another attack. This is getting out of hand." Walter noted.

"Yes. I have a feeling something big is coming. These attacks appear to be random, but they are growing in intensity. I don't like it. I really don't like it." Daphne responded, her eyes hard, and filled with focus and contempt.

Millennium. The name of the organization that was causing this. She was beginning to get impatient with them. She knew they intended to launch a major attack, Riley had said as much. So what were they waiting for? What were they hoping to gain from these skirmishes? Daphne didn't know, but she was getting fed up with it. The echoes of gunfire suddenly filled the air, and Daphne let out a huff, turning and striding away from town. She was beginning to recognize the distant echo of Alucard's special handgun. She knew he had dealt with, or was so to finish dealing with those responsible.

Another attack dealt with, with more on the way. This was a problem, and it was getting worse by the moment.

**-****Petref Cysgodian Hud, Britain. April 24****th 1999-**

"Congratulations." Riley offered to Itachi, stepping up next to him as he overlooked Sasuke and an exhausted Karin, fussing over their newborn daughter.

"Good to see you've made it." Itachi noted.

"Sorry, was in the middle of training when I heard that Karin had gone into labor. She wasn't due for another week." Riley responded.

"Yes, it was quite surprising, but Lord Hashirama says that she's doing well, and the baby is perfectly healthy." Itachi offered.

"Happy to hear. So… how's it feel to be an uncle?" Riley inquired.

"It's a new experience. I'm happy for the both of them. Sasuke's been a nervous wreck in recent days, unable to hide how excited and worried he is for the baby to arrive. They named her Sarada, by the way." Itachi explained, earning a smile from Riley.

"Sarada huh? I like it. She seems to have gotten her father's appearance." Riley noted the baby's dark hair from where she stood.

"Naruko said the same thing when she was here earlier." Itachi noted with a chuckle.

"Well… as matriarch of the Uzumaki, I should offer my congratulations to the new parents." Riley hummed.

"True. By the way, any news on the due date for you and Fleur?" Itachi responded.

"Nope. It's not gonna be long though. Maybe a month or two after the wedding at the most." Riley answered, earning a nod from Itachi.

"Well… why don't we go and see them then, I'm sure Karin is exhausted, despite her Uzumaki vitality. She could do with some rest." Itachi offered, garnering a hum of agreement from Riley.

The two approached the door, knocking before entering. As Riley offered her congratulations to the new parents, she couldn't help envisioning the few short months until it would be her in that very same position.

Riley knew deep down that she was going to be a better parent than Minato or Lily. She would love her child, teach them right from wrong, and then spoil them as close to rotten as she could get without creating a snot-nosed brat.

It would be a helluva time, that much, was without a doubt but still, Riley refused to allow circumstances to stop her from living. She would push forward, come hell or high water.

**-Cheddar Village, Britain. May 5th 1999-**

"Do you think we'll be able to spin this one?" Walter inquired, his eyes set on the smoke rising from the village before him.

"We knew this was going to happen. We warned them that this was intensifying. Now a whole town has been destroyed. If the aurors haven't prepared for something like this, than that's their problem. Mine is dealing with the one's causing it." Daphne responded, her gaze hard, and focused.

Surrounding the two was a chaotic mass of police investigators, as well as aurors, under the guise of government agents here to handle a terrorist incident.

Daphne had already dispatched Alucard into the city to locate the vampire responsible, and the Legion itself, had deployed a squad out into Cheddar village to kill the ghouls. Unlike the previous attacks, this time it had spread to almost the entire town, killing hundreds.

"_It is done, my master..."_ Alucard's voice, trailed into Daphne's head, earning a sigh from her. She visibly nodded and motioned for Walter to follow her. The two advanced into the nearby woods, and waited for Alucard to return.

A few minutes went by before the No-Life King, made his appearance, though he wasn't alone. Cradled in his arms was the bloodied, unconscious form of a woman. A police woman to be exact. She was young, blonde of hair, broad shouldered, and quite buxom.

Daphne and Walter both shared a look when they spotted the girl.

Alucard set her down in the grass and offered his master a bow.

"The vampire priest has been dealt with, all evidence destroyed." Alucard informed them.

"Who is this?" Daphne inquired, kneeling next to the woman, alongside Walter, who quickly checked her pulse.

"Her name is Seras Victoria. An unfortunate casualty of the night's events." Alucard responded, earning a hard look from Daphne, as she noted that woman was still alive, despite the fact that the blood and hole in her shirt indicated that she had been shot through the heart.

The size of the hole, was also familiar, looking like something only Alucard's signature weapon could accomplish.

"You shot her?" Daphne noted.

"He held her as a hostage. His skills were markedly better than the rabble I've faced recently. She was dead either way. Either I kill the both of them, or he kills her, then I kill him." Alucard responded, without his usual grin, or show of arrogance.

Daphne was quiet as she examined the young woman, who looked to be around Daphne's age. Nineteen or twenty years old.

Daphne quickly noted that on top of still breathing, the wound on her chest had also healed over. Concern flood her features, as she turned her gaze to Walter. He offered her a nod, showing that he had also noted the same things she had, and come to the same conclusion.

"You turned her." Daphne stated, turning her gaze towards her servant.

"I offered her the choice. Die as a human, or live as a vampire. She chose to live." Alucard responded, again, uncharacteristically quiet for his usual grandiose self.

Daphne was silent for several long moments, internally cursing. Finally she let out a sigh and rose to her feet.

"She's coming with us. As of right now, this girl is now property of the Hellsing organization." Daphne commanded, her gaze hard and focused. "Walter, figure out what you can about her. Who she was, any family to speak of, who would miss her. Alucard… she's your responsibility. My same rules that apply to you, apply to her. Keep your offspring in check, she steps out of line even once, and her name will be on your list."

Again uncharacteristically, Alucard's face warped into a snarl. It was only for a moment, before he suddenly smiled. "Of course, my master. She will be the perfect little pet. I will make sure of it."

"That is all I ask." Daphne responded, not showing the vampire any fear. She felt her shadow shift as Alucard snarled, the wraith ready to lash out at the vampire if he dared to try and argue with Daphne. While concerned about the sudden anger, it did make sense to her, to her knowledge this was the first vampire Alucard has sired in centuries, his reaction, would have been the same reaction Riley would have given in regards to her familiars. Despite their loyalties, Daphne could not let herself forget that these were incredibly dark creatures. While called a vampire, Alucard was more closely related to a devil. They were evil, no matter what they fought for, and no matter what they claimed to believe in. Daphne wasn't worried. Despite the vampire's incredible power, she and he both knew that if he stepped out of line, it wouldn't be any ancient seals that he had to worry about. It would be the Archdemon that was always watching. Even now, Daphne felt her mate's eyes boring into her, having sensed the vampire's agitation.

"Let's go." Daphne stated, placing a hand on the woman's stomach and holding out her other, for them to take.

-**Hellsing Manor, England. May 6****th**** 1999-**

Daphne sat in her office, reading over the file, Walter had provided on their newest resident. Seras Victoria. A newly made officer of the law. Her file indicated that she was an orphan, her parents having been slain during a robbery at her home, when she was little.

In and out of foster care, she had a troubling childhood. Her record as an officer so far was exemplary and indicated that she was proficient in her duties, if not a little mouthy when it came to her orders.

She closed the file and let out a sigh.

"Alucard." Daphne stated aloud to the empty room. A few moments passed before her vampiric servant rose from the ground, and offered a bow.

"Yes my master?" Alucard responded.

"Come sit. I'd like to talk with you." Daphne replied, gesturing to the seat across from her.

The vampire did as instructed, offering her one of his charming smiles as he did.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Alucard inquired.

"I'm curious about something. I want to know why you reacted the way you did yesterday. Why did you spare this young woman, and make her a vampire? Why did you react so poorly when I ordered you to keep her on a tight leash? I expect honesty, but I understand that there is still great mystery between us. So… if you would please..." Daphne inquired. As she did, she took two wine glasses that had been set on her desk and placed them before her. She withdrew from her desk a vintage red wine, pouring some into both glasses.

She then took a knife and sliced open her palm, and held it above one of the glasses, allowing it to flow into the cup, mixing with the wine. Her gaze remained passive, as it slowly drifted between the cup and Alucard, who was watching her with keen interest, and primal hunger.

A smirk touched at her lips, as she finished adding her blood to one of the glasses. She picked up her wand and quickly stitched the wound back together, and then passed Alucard the wine mixed with blood. He accepted the glass, breathing in the scent of the two liquids, intermingled.

He brought the glass to his lips, drinking in the mixture, with all of the regal elegance of an ancient lord.

Crossing his legs and leaning back in his chair, he offered her a smile.

"What lovely blood. Still as chilly as a winter storm, but within, a blazing inferno. So much like you, my beloved master." Alucard offered as a compliment earning a snort of amusement from Daphne as she drank from her own wine glass.

"You have proven yourself a loyal and worthy ally to my cause Alucard. I understand why my predecessors feared you, but I do not have the luxury of hiding behind morality. In order for me to protect my people, and the ones that I love, I must work with monsters. The girl, Seras. She will work for the Hellsing organization. In return I will allow her to remain here. And I'll allow you to teach her what it means to be a true vampire. Now… if you would be so kind as to answer my earlier questions. I am quite curious to hear your reasoning." Daphne responded.

"Well… to answer your first question, it is because she interests me. Something about her, I found curious. Keeping her alive is the only way to satiate that curiosity. As to answer your second question… bad memories. Make no mistake, I have great respect for you. What I have little respect for is men who wish to control that which they have not earned the right to. And when they cannot control such things, they seek to destroy them. She is my creation. And I am your servant." Alucard answered.

"I see. As with all things, then I will prove myself worthy. But until I do, do please follow my orders, and keep her under control. I recognize your distaste for those that overreach. Understand my need to protect those that I care for. Even from you and your new pet. I put trust in you, and I offer you the freedom your previous masters did not, because I am not afraid of you. I am however afraid of what you could do if ever you lost control. And control, is why I must emphasize her training. So long as she follows orders, and keeps in control of herself, so long as she does not jeopardize the lives of those I must protect, I will allow you to raise her as you see fit. Do we have an understanding, Alucard?" Daphne explained, earning an elegant smile from the old count.

"Do not worry master. I have a feeling she will do more then just impress. After all, I don't make wrong choices… I make investments." Alucard replied, his smile turning ferocious towards the end.

"Than I look forward to seeing this investment of your come through. Until then… we have work to do." Daphne said to him, earning a nod of agreement from her servant, as she leaned back in her chair, quietly sipping from her wine as she did.

The world was changing, that much was certain. The fall of the Statute of Secrecy, was about to begin.

**-****To Be Continued-**

_**Alrighty, there you all go, hope you enjoyed, and hope everyone is having a good new year so far. Story is picking up speed now, hoping it wont be long before we get the battle of London and the fall of the Statute of Secrecy.**_


	16. 16: Hopeful Tidings

_**Alright here's the next chapter for you guys. Hope everyone's ready for high adventure and passable storytelling. Just kidding, hoping this makes it out before my birthday in June. I've gotten into the habit of writing such long chapters that I feel almost obligated to make each chapter as long a two or three for most people. Which is why it kinda becomes daunting when I write a new one. I start writing get something good out of it, and them I'm at like five thousand words and I'm like, alright, time for more story and than I keep going. I know I should just shorten it but I've had this habit of 7000-12000 words for each chapter for a long time. Hell the shortest chapter in Broken Angel is 4300 words, which is on the higher end of average for most people. The longest chapter is sitting at 15900 words. Looking back I haven't even dropped under 6500 words since chapter fifty of Broken Angel. That was like years ago. I'm still blown away by how much I wrote for that story, It basically as long as the whole Harry Potter book series.**_

_**Anyway, there is my micro rant for the day, to help pad this sucker out. Lol. Time to get things lit up. This chapter is gonna lead up to some truly epic stuff, so time to strap in. much like I did with Riley's first attack on Konoha, The Battle of London might release as two chapters at around the same time, so that you guys don't have a major cliffhanger, or I might just do one epic long one, thats 15000 words. We'll see what happens though. Anyway lets get started.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

Chapter 16: Hopeful Tidings.

**-Hellsing Manor, England. May 7th 1999-**

Daphne and Walter stepped into the bedroom of Seras Victoria as she let out a scream of fright. Alucard was sitting by her bedside and she seemed to losing her wits over her newly discovered pointed teeth.

"The Police Girl is quite loud, isn't she, my master?" Alucard noted with a chuckle.

"That she is. You should remember where you come from, Police Girl. We like to show manners in this country. Vampire or not." Daphne noted, with a stoic, calculating gaze.

The newly reborn vampire, turned her cerulean gaze onto Daphne. Confusion and curiosity filling those ocean blue globes.

Daphne took the moment of silence to study the buxom blonde that had become her newest ward. Seras Victoria had blonde hair cut in a flare cut. She wasn't overly tall, though still a bit taller than Daphne. She was broad shouldered, with visible muscles along her forearms, but she was also quite buxom as well. A tick of annoyance flashed in Daphne's eyes at that, noting that Seras had quite the figure, despite being nineteen, a year younger than Daphne.

"So… I really am a vampire? Sorry, but where am I, exactly?" Seras inquired, with a sigh.

"This is Hellsing Manor. The headquarters of the Hellsing Organization. Our organization is dedicated to protecting England from monsters. I am Daphne. Daphne Greengrass Slytherin Hellsing. I am the head of the Hellsing family, and organization. This is Walter C Dornez, my adviser and butler to the Hellsing Manor. You've already met Alucard, your sire." Daphne answered the young woman, earning a slow nod from her as her eyes darted between the three of them.

"Given your unique condition, you have two choices. As a vampire, and an untrained one at that, you must receive training so that you can keep control over yourself. Your first choice is for me to send you off to the local coven. The lord vampire there will take you in, they will raise you, train you, and teach you in their ways. You'll end up segregated to their niche little corner of the world, and you'll walk the night forever more. Or, you can remain here. In which case you will work for Hellsing. Alucard will train you to control yourself, and I will allow you the same freedoms I allow him, once you've proven you can control yourself. Our organization it dedicated to protecting people from monsters. Monsters like the one that killed you. You've chosen to walk the path of undeath, as a vampire. Now you must live with that choice. You have an hour to decide, sadly I cannot offer you more. Until you're trained, Alucard will keep an eye on you, and I need him for a mission. So… think on it, and decide." Daphne explained to her, earning another slow nod from the woman.

Daphne and Walter turned to leave, when Seras spoke up.

"Ma'am?" Earning their attention both turned back to her.

"I think I'd rather stay here, if that's alright..." Seras said to them. Alucard smirked at her reply and rose to his feet.

Daphne nodded as Walter approached the young woman and placed a uniform on her bed, giving her an amused smile as he did.

"I figured you would. Get dressed, and then get ready. There are two vampires out there, murdering their way across the countryside. They are tearing off their victims heads, and using their blood to write messages on the wall. They are calling out our organization and insulting the national faith. You'll join Alucard in hunting them down and killing them." Daphne commanded, earning devilish smirks from both Alucard and Walter, while Seras herself just nodded slowly.

Not long after, the fledgling vampire was deployed on her first mission to aid her master in destroying two more murdering vampires. The mission went off without much difficulty.

Nearing midnight, Seras found herself standing silently beside her master as he gave his report on incident, to Daphne.

The former police officer still didn't fully understand the dynamic between Alucard and Daphne. Why exactly was a vampire working for a human? Who was Daphne exactly? What was really going on?

"How was it, your first kill as a vampire?" Daphne inquired, directing her question towards Seras.

Seras didn't answer immediately, causing Alucard to smirk.

"Come now Police Girl, it's impolite to space off during a meeting." Alucard hummed with amusement.

Seras blinked a few times, realizing they were talking to her, and had in fact asked a question.

"Sorry. Ma'am… master." Seras muttered, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"I understand you probably have a lot on your mind right now. I'll forgive your lack of focus, though try and keep your mind from wandering until after your reports are given." Daphne responded, earning a nod from the blonde vampire.

"Yes ma'am." Seras replied.

Daphne quietly blinked several times then turned her head to gaze at the empty space next to her, as she did Seras saw something that left her jaw hanging open in disbelief.

The space around a central point about six feet off the ground, warped and twisted, almost like illustrations she'd see in school of black holes. Out of the center of the distortions, a being emerged, a woman, standing at six foot even. In the moon lit room, it was hard to tell, but it appeared that her skin was a palish gray, her hair was jet black, and horns emerged from the top of her head.

Her eyes glowed a metallic purple, in the darkness of the night, and she wore a coat of pure blackness.

Something about the woman, immediately set Seras on edge, and filled her with fright. Almost like a sixth sense, or an instinct warning her against a predator. It was the same feeling she got from Alucard, but more intense.

"Riley?" Daphne inquired, gazing at her mate.

"My love." Riley responded, gazing down at her. For the briefest moment, her eyes flickered to those in the room. When they landed on Seras she felt every muscle in her body tense up, almost painfully.

It lasted only an instant, but it was long enough to send a fearful shiver down her spine. This woman, she exuded power on a level beyond imagining. It was almost suffocating, being in the same room with her. Who was she? What was she?

"So you have yourself a new pet?" Riley inquired to her wife.

"Indeed. Alucard sired her a few days ago." Daphne responded.

"Congratulations. I didn't know you were expecting." Riley noted, sending a smirk towards the ancient vampire, who chuckled in reply.

"Rough, and moronic at times. She's still raw, but I do sense opportunity in this one." Alucard responded.

"I see. Well I hope she makes a fine addition to your band of guardians. Just know that if you need me, I'm always available." Riley responded, turning her attention back to Daphne.

"I believe we're capable of handling things, but I appreciate the offer. I was just finishing up our meeting, so if you wouldn't mind. I'll see you later." Daphne replied to her offer, earning a nod of understanding an a small smile.

For the briefest instance, Riley's eyes flickered across the room again, before she vanished from sight, her body seemingly evaporating into air. To Seras, she could only just barely catch the rapid movements around the edge of Riley's form, otherwise, nothing else presented to indicate that she hadn't actually just faded out of existence.

"Apologies for the interruption. My wife is nosy, and isn't well known for her timing." Daphne stated, returning her focus to them.

"Your… wife?" Seras muttered, her jaw falling open.

"Your beloved beast grows more powerful by the day, my master. Do you truly believe you can control such power?" Alucard inquired with a smirk.

"Control? No. I've never thought that. Not with her, not with you. Monsters cannot be controlled, only directed. What is it you always say? Speak the name and you will see them dead? Say the words and you will rip them asunder? Controlling monsters, is what fools spend their lives trying to do. But there is no controlling them. If there were, they wouldn't be monsters in the first place." Daphne responded, earning a sagely nod of agreement from Walter, while Alucard hummed thoughtfully before smiling.

"A wise answer." Alucard agreed.

"Yes, well. Regardless, your mission is complete for now. So I would recommend you get some rest. These vampire attacks are occurring more and more frequently. I believe something massive is coming our way, an attack that may threaten the very fabric of our society. Ensure that your sireling is prepared for the bloodshed to come." Daphne commanded, earning a chuckle from Alucard.

"Oh… I will make sure of it. When fire rains from the sky, and the oceans run red with blood, we shall stand tall amongst the fallen. As all monsters of the night, are meant to." Alucard stated offering a respectful half bow to Daphne, as he sank into the ground.

Seras was still staring at the place where Riley had been, only to then stare dumbfounded as her master, seemingly fell through the floor.

"Wh- How? How did he do that?" Seras muttered in disbelief.

"Perhaps one day he will show you. For now, the night is only half over. I've taken the liberty of gathering some preferred reading for you. So do your homework. The sun wont be up for a while yet, so you've got plenty of time to familiarize yourself with our current enemy." Daphne motioned towards a small stack of books set on the corner of her desk, closest to Seras.

"Yes, ma'am." Seras replied dutifully. Her training as a police officer, allowing her to show a degree of professionalism.

"Walter, if you could, please give her a quick tour of the facilities, and then you are free to retire for the night." Daphne ordered, slowly rising to her feet.

"Of course, Sir." Walter said with a polite bow.

"This way, Police Girl." Walter commanded as she retrieved her homework and offered Daphne a quick salute.

The two immediately departed, leaving Daphne alone with her thoughts.

"I'm assuming you have questions?" Walter noted as they made their way through the mansion.

"Well, yes. I'm still trying to understand what I've become, but I guess that'll all come with time. I do have some questions about my master, and lady Daphne, and Hellsing in general." Seras responded.

"Feel free to ask. I will answer what I can." Walter responded as he led her through the halls, occasionally noting points of interest for her.

"Well, firstly, if lady Daphne isn't a vampire, than why does master serve her. We're fighting vampires aren't we?" Seras inquired, curiously.

"Vampires are our current foes, that's true, but they aren't the only beasts of the night, that our organization deals with. Hellsing itself works as an advisory group to various magical and muggle agencies around the world, offering them out expertise in dealing with dangerous situations, involving magical creatures. Alucard and yourself, belong to Hellsing's elite strike force, sent in when speed is of the essence. However we do have access to the assistance of the aurors if need be, as well as the Cysgodol Legion. As to why Alucard serves Hellsing, that ties into the old stories you may have heard about Doctor Van Hellsing. The famous monster hunter, alchemist, and rune master, who hunted down Count Dracula." Walter explained to her.

"Magical? Muggle? Aurors? Cysgodol Legion? Um… what does Count Dracula have to do with any of this? You're saying he was real?" Seras responded, a bit confused, and surprised by the revelation.

"Reverse Alucard's name, and you'll have your answer. He was real, and thanks to Doctor Van Hellsing, he if bound to the service of the Hellsing family, and directly serves the master of the household. Beyond that though, magic exists, muggles are how we in Europe refer to non-magicals humans. The Aurors are magical law enforcement, and the Cysgodol Legion is Britain's magical military." Walter answered all of her questions. He smirked as he heard her come to a stop, her eyes widening at the realization, as she reversed Alucard's name in her mind.

Her whole body trembled as she quickly caught up to Walter, much more unnerved than she was before, but more understanding of why her master gave off such a terrifying aura to him. If he truly was Count Dracula, than that would definitely explain it.

Her mind then passed onto the rest of Walter's responses. Magic was real… now that in-and-of itself was mind blowing, though it did explain how Alucard sank through the floor, and how Daphne's wife had arrived so strangely.

On that note she decided to take the opportunity to ask about Daphne and the strange being that Alucard had called a 'beast'.

"Walter sir, Lady Daphne… what do you know about her, and that other woman… her wife… what is she?" Seras inquired.

"Lady Daphne Greengrass Slytherin Hellsing. She was born Daphne Greengrass. She married into house Slytherin, and ancient and powerful magical house, and won Hellsing through Right of Conquest when she killed Richard Hellsing, the last lord of the Hellsing family. Before you ask, the right of conquest is tied to old family magics. A few generations of a family of powerful magical beings, can lead to that family developing an inborn and unique type of magic that recognizes their name and their specific family. If such a family is wiped out, that magic will try and survive however it can. So in the case of Hellsing, when the last blood member of the family, Richard Hellsing was killed, his family magics and name passed onto the one who killed him, through Right of Conquest. Which is how Lady Daphne earned the Hellsing Title." Walter began to explain, earning Seras' full attention.

"You called her, sir before." Seras noted.

"Yes I did. Lady Daphne was knighted by the queen when she took full command of the Hellsing organization. She has a seat on the round table. In her capacity as the head of the Hellsing organization, she is best addressed as a knight, though as the head of house Greengrass, and the Lady of house Slytherin, she is addressed as a Lady. She is both, a Lady and a Knight." Walter answered, earning another nod of understanding from Seras.

"So… she killed the last lord of the Hellsing house, and became it's new leader. Does that mean she managed to defeat master Alucard?" Seras inquired.

"No, Richard Hellsing never used Alucard, nor would Alucard have ever agreed to work for him in the first place. Richard Hellsing was a snake. He murdered his niece, the rightful heir to the Hellsing house, and used his position and connections to run a slave trading racket out of this very estate. The Queen herself, ordered his execution and the Cysgodol Legion carried it out, attacking the facility and killing him in the process. It was Lady Daphne who dealt the killing blow." Walter explained to her.

"Wow. What about her wife?" Seras asked.

"She's a bit more of a mystery to me, I'm afraid. Lady Riley Gryffindor Slytherin Ravenclaw Uzumaki Uchiwa Senju Black. Quite the name on that one, head of multiple noble households, and considered by many to be the most powerful magical warrior the world has ever seen. She founded the Cysgodol Legion only a few short years ago, and participated in the attack on the manor. She is considered a hero of the Fourth Great Ninja World War, and successfully defeated the Ten-Tails. Sealing the great demon away within her own body. From what I've heard, those strange events that were seen a few years back, causing all that chaos in Eastern Asia, that was all due to her battling an ancient demonic god." Walter answered, earning a dumbstruck look from Seras.

"I remember seeing those things on TV. That light that shot across the sky, and the giant orb… it took out a lot of satellites it was so big." Seras muttered, dumbfounded.

"Indeed. Some say the world nearly ended that day. That we came a hair's breath from annihilation. Lady Riley is said to have been the one responsible for stopping. From what I hear she beat it, nearly single-handed. Aside from herself I hear only a few others were involved in the direct fighting, including Sir Artoria Pendragon, the head of the Round Table. Sir Daphne's superior." Walter offered, earning a slow nod from Seras.

"And what about her eyes? Lady Riley's eyes had a strange pattern in them. I didn't get a look at it for very long, but it made me feel small. Tiny even, like I was an insect." Seras asked.

"They call them the **Rinnegan**. The ripple patterned eyes. The Samsara Eyes. The Eyes of God. I can't say I know much about them, other that the fact that only five people in history have ever had them. The first was the Founder of Magic, the Sage of the Six Paths, some three thousand years ago. The second a man from Village Hidden in Rain, named Pain. Than there is Lord Madara Uchiwa, lady Riley's grandfather. Lady Riley is the fourth, and the fifth is Lady Naruko, her twin sister. The eyes are said to grant the user unimaginable abilities. I asked Alucard if he knew anything more about them. The old vamp simply laughed and said those eyes were an aspect of God. Proof that God was not omnipotent. He offered me no more than that. Aside from all that, Lady Riley's eyes are different from the others. Her eyes carry markings along with the ripple pattern. Though I can't say what that truly means in regards to how they differ." Walter explained to her.

"Wow. This is all so crazy..." Seras muttered.

"Oh… you haven't seen the half of it yet." Walter smirked, knowingly, causing Seras to blanch in response.

**-Kamui. May 8th 1999-**

Riley rushed forward, delivering a downward slash to her opponent. Artoria was quick to side step the strike and lash out with Excalibur. Her blade sung as it slashed through the air, barely missing Riley's head.

The demoness, grinned with excitement, the thrill of battle, and injury causing her blood to come to a boil.

Artoria grimaced as Riley slammed into her again, Riley's strength was otherworldly, even with heavy use of her **Mana Burst** ability, she found herself struggling under the her partner's assault.

The two came to a pause when their blades locked together.

"You're awfully excited today." Artoria noted.

"What's not to be excited about? I'm going to be a parent. Like is going pretty well, all things considered. I've got a beautiful knight, to occupy my attention. I'd say I have plenty of reasons to be excited." Riley responded, her eyes alight with glee.

"You're full of flattery today as well." Artoria added, as she felt her heels begin to slide along the dirt, Riley pushing her back with her superior strength.

"Just trying to get you into bed. Nothing out of the ordinary." Riley said to her, causing Artoria's face to redden, as she tried to not let Riley's flirting distract her.

"You have a child on the way, shouldn't you be more focused on that?" Artoria tried to deflect Riley's attention away from flirting with her.

"Oh I am focused on it. About as focused as I am on the prospect of you and I having a baby." Riley responded, her tone becoming more sensual and alluring.

That did it for Artoria, she blushed beet red, and had to avert her eyes away from the lust building in Riley's gaze.

In response, Riley used her free hand to seize Excalibur by the blade and pull it away from the deadlock. Creating an opening that allowed her to press her blade to Artoria's throat.

Artoria's eyes went wide as burning white light erupted around where Riley had gripped the blade. Holy magics billowed off of Excalibur, burning at the Archdemon's flesh, but Riley seemed undeterred, even as the flesh of her hand, sizzled and burned.

"Ha… looks like I found what makes you blush the most." Riley hummed with amusement, removing her hand from the blade, and allowing the burning white light to fade away. Artoria's eyes danced to the scalded flesh on Riley's hand.

Riley shook her hand a few times in annoyance.

"Are you alright?" Artoria inquired, knowing full well that holy energy was far more capable of hurting her than most other forms of attack.

"Yeah, fine." Riley responded, showing her hand. To Artoria's amazement, the blisters and burns were slowly receding, fading away into nothingness.

"I thought you couldn't full heal from Holy energy?" Artoria inquired, confused.

"No normally, I cant. Usually it just leaves an ugly scar. However, I learned that holy energy, acts a lot like cursed magic, wherein if you purge it from your system, you can negate it's effects. In my case, I'm actually corrupting the holy energy that's tainting my wound, allowing me to heal myself. As you can see it takes far longer, than the near instantaneous regeneration of my normal wounds, but I can still heal from it, if given than time. Otherwise I can just remove the affected area of my body, discarding it, and then recreating that part if I want." Riley explained, earning a nod of understanding from Artoria as the wound finished healing.

"I see. When did you learn that?" Artoria asked, as she sheathed Excalibur in Invisible Air.

"A few weeks ago. Trial and error really. Figured there was a reason why angels hadn't won the war against demons, if they could cause permanent damage to them. So just tried a few things." Riley replied with a shrug. "What's really curious though is the unique tie between holy magic and demonic Youki. For instance, when I summon up my purest memories, and create a **Patronus**, I can purify my own magic. It's quickly re-corrupted by my demonic core, but for a few instances in time, my magic is different. The fact that Demonic Youki can alter it's state like that, even to a purified form, is curious. I'm not quite sure what it means, and no one that I've asked, has had any sort of insight into it."

"Fascinating." Artoria agreed.

Riley stared down at her hand for a few more moments, before turning her attention back to Artoria and smiling.

"So… you spend a lot of time thinking about us having kids?" Riley inquired, causing Artoria to blush and look away, while Riley grinned.

"Your earlier statement simply caught me off guard." Artoria tried to respond with confidence though her final words came out as a bit of a stutter, as Riley stepped up to her, placing her hands on Artoria's shoulders, smirking, her eyes filled with lust and desire.

"Well I hope you realize, that I've been thinking about it, you pregnant with out child. Such an enticing thought though first I'd have to get you into bed..." Riley growled sensually into her ear as she pulled Artoria into an embrace.

She felt Artoria hug her back, but she didn't say anything, no doubt extremely embarrassed by such a prospect.

"I've never considered such a thing, not truly. Having children. Maybe one day." Artoria responded quietly, sinking into Riley's embrace.

Riley smiled at that, happy to know that Artoria was open to the idea. For now though, it was nice to just be with her, and spend some time together. Riley knew, not so deep down, that everything was soon going to get wild.

**-Hellsing Manor, England.-**

"Ser Daphne, a word if you may, we've received an interesting report that you may find troubling." Walter offered to her, earning Daphne's attention.

"What does it say?" Daphne inquired.

"Word has reached us that the Vatican has deployed it's Iscariot organization to Ireland, to deal with vampire threats in that region, and that they may be crossing over into our territory." Walter informed her.

"Iscariot? Members of the Vatican's elite monster hunter division. Section XIII. How many members did they send?" Daphne inquired in response.

"Only one. Alexander Anderson." Walter replied.

"Alexander Anderson? The Paladin. What are the chances he runs into Alucard and Seras?" Daphne asked, earning a rather pointed look from Walter. "Damn. Alright then. Looks like we're headed to Ireland."

Daphne was quick to rise to her feet, her Dementor cloak manifesting around her. Walter was by her side immediately, and the two quickly disappeared from the estate, headed to check up on their wayward vampires.

They arrived at an old hospital that had recently been captured by a rogue vampire whom had turned all of the inhabitants into ghouls. Daphne and Walter entered into the building, Daphne coming a pause as she passed through her cloak and shadow both reacting as if passing through a barrier.

Her eyes narrowed as she continued forward.

The two made their way past dozens of corpses, left over from Alucard and Seras and made it to the floor above.

They arrived just in time to find Seras on her knees, heavily injured, and a man in a long light blue coat, standing over her, armed with two long bayonets.

Daphne reacted immediately, firing a severing curse right at the Paladin's weapons, snapping both of them, and alerting him to their presence.

"Alexander Anderson. Paladin of Vatican's Iscariot Organization. That girl belongs to me." Daphne snarled, another spell fresh on her lips, her wand training on the Catholic agent.

Alexander Anderson, stood impressively tall and muscular, he had blonde hair, and light stubble running along his chin. A long scar ran down from one of his eyes, and small glasses covered them. He faced Daphne and Walter, and offered both of them a menacing smile.

"Oh, would you look at that, Hellsing's come all this way. Hmm… I guess the rumors are true, your godless organization of heathens is run by a witch." The priest stated with a chuckle before launching towards them at incredible speed.

Walter, readied to counter the man, but was surprised when he saw Daphne advanced, stepping forward to meet the man's charge.

Anderson brought a blade to bare on her, only for to meet with ice cold steel. A gauntlet covered fist closed around the priest's neck, causing his eyes to widen in surprise.

Having emerged from her shadow, her own personal wraith, blocked his strike, and was now holding him at bay. Daphne's wand was pressed to Anderson's chest, with single word she could unleash a blasting curse and take out his heart, spine, and damage most of his internal organs.

"Where is Alucard?" Daphne inquired, her gaze filled with fury.

"Seems like more than just vampires in service to you wretches. As for your vampire, he already dead." Alexander replied, his eyes dancing from Daphne to the wraith, than back again.

"Dead? Do please explain to me how that came to pass? Seeing as how the building is still standing, I'm guessing you're exaggerating." Daphne scoffed at him, earning confusion from the priest.

Almost as if on cue, the sound of flesh molding itself together, along with bats screeching filled the air. It took only a moment, but Alucard manifested nearby, a demonic grin adorning his face.

A curse left Anderson's throat as he jumped back, away from Daphne and the wraith.

"Come now Catholic, shall we continue our dance?" Alucard demanded, charging at the priest fire shots from his pistol.

Anderson dodged them, and rushed forward, slicing off one of Alucard's arms, only for it to grow back almost immediately.

"Now this is getting interesting. Do please show me more." Alucard's grin was becoming hellish now.

"You're right. This is getting interesting. A bit too interesting for what I came prepared for. I guess I'll have to retreat for now. Next time though, I'll see you to your grave vampire. And you as well, witch." Anderson retrieved a small bible from pocket, when he opened it, golden papers erupted, causing a burst of light, that Anderson vanished into.

Just as suddenly as it had started, it ended.

Daphne let out a sigh and shook her head, placing her wand back in it's holster as she did.

"We're alive. I can't believe it." Seras muttered, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright, Ser Daphne?" Walter inquired.

"Fine. The wraith shielded me, as I knew it would. What was the Vatican doing here?" Daphne responded with a question of her own.

"They've never moved this far into our territory before. Despite both of our churches, long standing feuds, surely the Vatican has heard rumors of your lady, Wife. Any attempts into our lands, could mean retaliation from the Queen, and if the queen sends her… well…" Walter trailed off, but Daphne understood plainly.

The Vatican and the Church of England had long been at odds with each other. But Daphne herself held no such religious views. Despite that, Walter was right. The Vatican surely had at least heard about Riley through their ties to the magical world, and knew of what she had done, and what she was capable of. And Riley was English, despite her mixed heritage. Attacking one of the Queen's loyal organizations, would definitely risk Riley being sent to deal with the problem, and Riley had no issue with attacking a religious organization, despite the problems that it would cause globally.

Daphne bit her lip in frustration, and turned to head out. Riley had been right. This was getting worse, by the day. Soon, everything would come burning down, and perhaps it wouldn't just be Millennium, who had a hand in it.

**-Vatican City, Rome. May 9th 1999-**

"So our intelligence was correct. The leader of Hellsing is a witch?" Enrico Maxwell, the head of the Iscariot Organization, inquired to one of his top soldiers, Alexander Anderson.

"Aye. And a strong one at that, despite her age. She has a creature guarding her, something that seems to follow in the darkness of her own shadow. It also appears as if she's gained a new pet vampire, on top of the original. We'll have to look into these things, and be ready, the next time we clash with Hellsing." Anderson responded.

"Did you, perchance, come across the container to the Tree of Life?" Maxwell inquired.

"No, why would I have?" Anderson responded.

"New intel may suggest that the leader of Hellsing, is married to the container. Two women engaged in a sinful relationship." Maxwell responded, his eyes darkening as he did, filling with fury and hatred.

"Well one is a witch, and the other, an abomination. Would you expect anything less?" Anderson replied, much calmer than his commander.

"No. I wouldn't. Just another reason why Hellsing has fallen into decadence and sin. We will have to be cautious. Our attempt to capture the Tree of Life, met with severe failure. The container proved to be exceptionally skilled, and easily overpowered our sealing ritual, killing all but one of the paladins we sent after her." Enrico stated, earning a look from his subordinate.

"Why was I not sent to deal with the container? You put to many lives at risk, trying to deal with something that powerful. Even if it's only the vessel, we're talking about the birth of all life in our world. It is from that tree, that god planted the seeds of life on Earth. If she has access to even a fraction of it's power, than who know what kind of destruction could be unleashed." Anderson admonished the younger man with a stern glare.

"Yes indeed. This was merely an attempt, if we were successful than it would be a great boon, but if not, we still left with valuable information, and she doesn't know who we are, which opens the doorway to the possibility of trying again. We will simply have to be prepared." Enrico responded, playing it cool, despite the malice in his eyes.

Anderson continued to eye him with concern and anger, but said nothing in response.

"One more thing, in regards to the container. Our newest intelligence indicated that she may also be the container of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox spirit." Enrico informed his subordinate, earning surprise from Anderson.

"So… the Tree of Life, and the most powerful demon in our world. Just who is this woman?" Anderson mused.

"An abomination. Nothing more." Enrico replied, his fury reaching out, adding a chill to his words.

Anderson sighed, but added nothing. It was a sentiment he agreed with, but he wasn't so willing to dismiss the container of these two great powers, as 'just' an abomination. There had to be more, much more, and it was from that more, that the secret to her defeat may lay. For now though, for now they simply had to prepare. First they needed to deal with Hellsing. From there, they could plan for how they would retrieve the Tree of Life from it's current vessel, and uplift the Church into a new Golden Age.

**-Sunagakure, Elemental Nations. May 20th 1999-**

Riley lay in Gaia's bed, the Kazekage cuddled up next to her, both enjoying some peace and quiet.

"Less than two weeks left until Fleur and I get married. Not more than six months after that, you and I will be married. That'll be three of my mates, I'll finally be wed to." Riley noted aloud.

"Yes. How's Fleur? Is she starting to show yet?" Gaia inquired.

"Yep. Her belly's getting rounder, and I can see the life growing inside of her. Our child is going to be strong, I can tell." Riley responded, with a smile.

"Excited?" Gaia hummed.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Came Riley's response.

"So, with Fleur already pregnant, what are you gonna do for your honeymoon?" Gaia wondered with a smirk.

"I'll think of a few things to fill the time." Riley responded with a mischievous little grin.

"Well I hope you two enjoy yourselves. You've been rather tense lately, I hope you can find some time to relax." Gaia noted.

"You're on to talk, my love. Any new troubles I should know about?" Riley inquired in response.

"Our enemy has been too quiet lately. I don't like quiet. Iwa rebels have slipped away into the mountains, and haven't come out recently. I worry that something major is coming." Gaia answered honestly.

"Well you know I'm here if you need me. Just say the word and I'll come here and deal with them." Riley offered, earning a nod from her beloved mate.

"Thank you Riley. I'll be sure to keep that in mind. You just focus on your wedding, I know you've been waiting for this day, for a long time." Gaia responded, causing Riley to smile.

"I've wanted to marry Fleur since I was little more than a child. Now that day is fast approaching. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to come to the wedding Gaia, it means a lot, to both of us." Riley informed her.

"I'll always be there to support you, in all things." Gaia said to her, snuggling closer to Riley.

"_I hope you're ready for what that entails my love. Very soon, that support will be needed for whole of the magical world."_ Riley thought to herself, tightening her grip on Gaia as the two continued to relax.

**-Riley's Home, London. May 30th 1999-**

Riley and Fleur lay together on the couch, their relatives busying themselves with preparations for their upcoming wedding.

The two had no greater plans other than spending some quiet time together, basking in each others presence.

Even now, after only a short time had passed, Fleur was already starting to show with her pregnancy. Her belly was beginning to grow, and her hormones were falling out of whack. The night prior she burst into tears while making love with Riley, and couldn't stop crying nearly twenty minutes. It was honestly adorable as the normally regal, prim, and proper Veela, was now a bit skittish, hormonal, and giddy.

Needless to say, the upcoming wedding had everyone feeling excited.

"Two more days, my love." Riley whispered to her, feeling her smile in response.

"Two more days." She whispered back.

-**May 31****st**** 1999-**

Just like with Daphne, the ladies were quick to whisk Fleur away for her bachelorette party. Just like with Daphne's it would be her family, friends, and fellow mates, spending their day on one of the southern beaches of France, kicked back, and enjoying a day of peace and quiet.

For Riley, her grandfathers had organized a get together with all of her friends, to enjoy a long day of all of them collectively trying to kick the crap out of Riley. Basically an all versus one, battle royale for the ages.

Good times all round, with Riley getting to flex her limbs as she fought off basically everyone she knew, and tried not to accidentally kill anyone, all in all, a fun day for both brides-to-be.

**-Chateau Delacour, France. June 1st 1999-**

Katie and Gabrielle both cradled Fleur between them as she openly wept, her feelings overwhelming her in the moments leading up to the wedding ceremony.

It would be held in much the same was as Daphne's and Riley's had been, though it would be officiated by the head of the local Veela coven.

Fleur herself was a mess, barely able to contain her excitement.

Nearby, Daphne, Luna, Kaede, and Gaia, all stood by watching Katie and Gabrielle try and get Fleur calmed down enough to proceed with the ceremony.

"So, how does it feel to go from wife, to first wife?" Gaia inquired to Daphne, earning a smirk from her in the process.

"I'm happy for them. Really, I am. I just hope nothing back happens today. She went to war for me, I'd hate to see what she'd do if something happened to Fleur, while she's pregnant, nonetheless." Daphne, answered, earning collective nods from her fellow mates.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Katie inquired, wiping the tears from Fleur's face.

"I- I… Perhaps." Fleur muttered in response, earning a smile from her sister.

"Today's finally the day. Time to go and marry the woman of your dreams. Can't keep her waiting now." Gabrielle hummed, earning a quick nod from Fleur as she rose to her feet.

Just then, Fleur's mother poked her head into the room, offering her a wide smile.

"It's time." She stated, earning an excited nod from Fleur.

"Knock 'em dead." Katie encouraged her as they all quickly departed to find their seats.

Not long afterwards, it was time for the ceremony to begin.

Just as with the previous wedding the, two would exit their respective chambers, and walk towards one another, meeting in the middle before the crowd of onlookers and well-wishers. They would then approach the official and proceed with the ceremony.

Fleur couldn't escape the feeling of her heart threatening to pound it's way out of her chest. Finally, after almost ten years since they had first met, she would finally marry her beloved mate. This was quite literally a dream come true.

The two approached each other, Fleur in a white dress, Riley in a black. The passionate flame with the demoness' eyes spoke volumes even as she kept her composure.

Fleur entered into her embrace when the two met.

"Are you ready for this?" Riley whispered.

"I am. My love. You make me so happy. I love you wiz all of my heart." Fleur responded as they turned and headed towards the Veela Matriarch.

"Who comes to claim this woman as their wife?" The Matriarch inquired, gesturing to Fleur.

"I do. Riley Uchiwa." Riley responded.

"And who comes to claim this woman?" The Matriarch asked, gesturing to Riley.

"I do. Fleur of House Delacour." Fleur replied.

"In the sight of old magic, I ask that these two be wed, let their vows of love, form the basic of their unity. Let their hearts and souls be joined together, forever more. Let their lives be filled with joy and happiness, for the rest of their days. We shall begin with the exchanging of the rings." The official began.

Riley and Fleur turned to face each other, both of their eyes alight with excitement.

"Fleur… you were the first person I ever truly loved. You've been with me ever since we were children. You and I were meant for one another, and I every day you prove that to me with your love, your compassion, you heart, and soul. I knew from the moment we shared our first kiss that we'd spend the rest of our lives together. I love you with a fire that grows in intensity with each passing moment. It's been a helluva ride getting here, but after today, we'll step forward, joined hand in hand, ready to face the rest of our lives together. I don't think I've ever thanked you loving me. For giving me your time, and your heart. So thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I plan on spending every day of my life, making sure that it's that happiest day of yours." Riley said to her, tears building in her eyes as she placed the ring on Fleur's finger.

Both of their rings were silver-gold bands intertwined and adorned with cerulean blue emeralds. Much like with Riley's and Daphne's wedding rings, a drop of blood had been infused into the stone work.

Fleur was openly crying now, earning smiles and tearful chuckles from her fellow mates in the crowd, as well as her family and friends.

It took several moments for Fleur to compose herself enough to begin reading her vows, and when she did, it was with great difficulty as she struggled to keep from bawling her eyes out.

"My love, my heart and soul. You have been on my mind, every day, since ze moment we first met. You have always been my hero, my lover, my friend. I cannot imagine my life wizout you in it. I have counted the seconds until zis day. Ze day I could call you my wife. I know our days will not always be easy, but wiz you I know we will make is zrough. Now, here we stand, ready to unite out lives fully wiz one anozer. Zis is ze happiest day of my life. I love you Riley, I always have, and I always will." Fleur got her vows out through her tears. Riley smiled lovingly at her as she reached out and took Fleur's hands, as Fleur placed her ring on Riley's finger.

"You and I, together forever, my love." Riley whispered to her, earning a nod from Fleur as she wiped some tears from her face.

"The vows have been said. Let us now ask magic to join these two, in the unity of marriage. By the powers that be, I, Arianna of House Lithold, call upon magic to join these two in marriage. I ask that they be blessed with long and happy lives, and that their union be blessed with good fortune, from this day, until their last. May the bonds of marriage hold them united, through sickness, and hard times, from now onward." The Veela matriarch proclaimed, causing magic to rise out of the two women. Fleur's magic rose as a gentle baby blue, and it moved like flame, while Riley's rose as three different colors, black, dark gray, and red around the edges. Riley's magic moved in torrents shifting and floating through the air, filling it with a crackling noise, and causing everyone's hairs to stand on end.

The sight earned many oohs, and awes from the crowd, many noting the changes in her magic's appearance since her last wedding. All of them attributing it to her now being the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki.

Their two magics intermingled and joined with one another, mixing and diluting into each other, until they finally formed one color, a dark bluish-gray, signifying that magic had accepted their union.

"Magic has seen fit to join you both in holy matrimony, seal the union with a kiss and finish it with an act of true love." The Matriarch commanded.

Riley and Fleur beamed at one another, before meeting in a passionate embrace and kiss.

Cheers broke up from the crowd, as family, friends, and well-wishers, roared their approval.

As the two shared their kiss, Riley kept her senses keened into the crowd, just in case something were to happen, like the last time.

A few other members of the crowd, were of a similar mind, her grandfathers, keeping their eyes peeled for anyone attempting anything.

Luckily no one tried to attack them, and the wedding was allowed to continue to the reception.

Cheerful celebrations soon ensued with plenty of merriment to go around.

Fleur spent the time being passed from group to group, of friends, family, other Veela, and the like, all of whom offering their blessings for her new marriage.

Riley did much the same, floating around amongst her friends, family, and mates.

"Fun times, eh?" Riley inquired to Daphne.

"Indeed it is. Happy to see nothing went awry. So, you two planning on vanishing from this party, or were go going to wait until tomorrow before heading out to spend some time alone?" Daphne inquired as she drank from her champagne glass.

"We'll vanish the moment everyone's done offering their congrats. I'm thinking of taking her somewhere in the Mediterranean, to enjoy the warmth and beaches." Riley responded, earning a curious look from Daphne.

"No gonna take her out to Alaska to show her your cabin?" Daphne asked.

"Nope. I think I'll let that be our special place. Somewhere you and I share our memories." Riley responded, earning a gentle smile from Daphne.

"Ma'am, my lady?" Walter inquired, offering a tray of champagne to the two, earning a nod from Riley and a curious look from Daphne.

"You know you aren't working right now, Walter. You don't need to go around serving everyone." Daphne said to him, earning a dry smile from the old butler.

"Force of habit ma'am." He responded, sending a glance towards Riley.

Riley caught his eye, and noted the gleam in it. Something about it, drew her attention. Walter was trying to speak with her.

"_Yes?" _Riley inquired, speaking into his mind.

"_There is an attack coming. Millennium is going to launch an assault on Hellsing's compound on the 13th of June."_ Walter informed her. Riley was quiet for a moment but offered a nod.

"_Alright. I'll make sure everything is in place to deal with this attack. Thank you for the information."_ Riley responded, earning a nod from Walter, whom offered the same to Daphne, before departing to return to his role as a faithful servant.

Their conversation occurred in the blink of an eye, so quickly in fact that Daphne didn't notice it.

"Come along my dear, let's go find Itachi and Artoria, I've got some news for the three of you." Riley offered, placing an arm around Daphne and guiding her through the room, leading her to gather up Itachi and Artoria.

Once he'd gathered the other two, he led them off to a side area where they could speak in private.

"A weeks ago, I tracked down a member of the group launching these vampire attacks against us." Riley informed Artoria and Itachi.

Both of them shared a look before focusing on her.

"This man was sent as an infiltrator into our operations within the British Government. His purpose was to keep an eye on Hellsing and feed the enemy information on them. I turned him to our side, and made him swear a blood oath of servitude. He's my agent now, and has given me a great deal of info about this group. They call themselves Millennium. They're a group of Nazi vampires that survived World War II. Their goal is to trigger a global conflict that will initiate a thousand years of bloodshed and chaos. They intend to live in this chaotic world, and spent the rest of their lives fighting in glorious battle. On the thirteenth of this month, they're going to attack the Hellsing compound." Riley informed the three of them, earning hard looks from all three.

"You waited this long to tell us, why?" Itachi inquired.

"I'm playing this one close to the vest. Our enemy has plans to trigger a global catastrophe, and my agent doesn't know where they are, exactly. If they learn about us, and about us, knowing about them, they'll slip from sight, until they're ready. So, the fewer people in the know, the safer everything will be. A predictable enemy, is an easily beaten one, it's when they're forced to become unpredictable, that they become dangerous." Riley answered, earning a nod from Itachi. It was the same philosophy she'd used with the Akatsuki, so long as she knew what they were doing, she could counter it, but if anything went wrong and they escaped, the line of information was broken, and they became and unknown. Patience was key, you had to wait and strike at the perfect time, to ensure their total destruction.

"Alright, we'll lay a trap for them, and wipe them out when they come at us." Daphne stated, earning a nod for agreement from Artoria.

"I agree on the trap, but we have to be careful that we don't let the enemy know, that we know about them. They cannot suspect that we knew they were coming, otherwise my agent may be exposed. When you lay a trap for them, make sure it looks like you simply reacted faster than anticipated. The key word being 'reacted'. A surprise attack, if known about, and properly exploited, can be turned on it's perpetrator quite efficiently." Riley responded.

"I agree. We'll need to make this appear like we were simply more prepared for something like this, than they thought. So long as they believe we reacted to their attack, rather than knew about it before hand, they'll continue along their current course. What is their goal in this attack?" Itachi inquired.

"The round table. You have a meeting on the thirteenth at the manor, right?" Riley responded, surmising that part on her own. Artoria and Daphne nodded.

"I'll be back from my honeymoon by then, and I'll be there to help if need be. Just get ready for it, as quietly as you can." Riley offered to the three, earning nods from all of them.

Internally, Riley seethed at the prospect of someone going after her wife and future mate. She'd play the game for now, but when the time came, Millennium would suffer a fate worse than death.

**-To be Continued-**

_**Alright, there's the next chapter for you guys, rest of Hellsing Arc, and the Battle of London next chapter, get ready cuz it's gonna be a long one. :)**_


	17. 17: Fall of the Old World

_**Alright, time for the next chapter, hope you all are ready, gonna really get into it. This one is gonna be a long one.**_

_**And Deathchill asked an interesting question as to why none of Riley's children have the Sharingan or the Rinnegan, the answer is that their dojutsu are tied to their demonic halves, so until they embrace them, they have little chance of awakening said powers. Due to Riley not being human at all, all of the abilities she passes onto her children are tied into their demonic powers, and the more they embrace said powers, the more they gain access to abilities they inherited from Riley.**_

_**By now only Zabuza, Eleanor, Alma, and Wesker, have fully embraced their demonic sides, meaning the four of them have the ability to awaken their dojutsu if pushed hard enough, but due to them being half-demons, their limits are much higher than normal people, so getting them to the point of physical and mental exertion necessary to awaken their eyes, is difficult.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

Chapter 17: The Fall of the Old World.

**-Florence, Italy. June 13th 1999-**

Never in her life, had Fleur felt happier. After so long together, she was finally married to her beloved mate. She could finally call Riley her wife. Her wedding had been perfect, her wedding night, even more so. The past two weeks had been everything she had dreamed of, when it came to a life with Riley. Romantic, passionate, filled with love, and affection. The two spent their honeymoon exploring the locations within the city, enjoying the history, and the arts, as well as just taking in the pleasantries of the foreign culture.

The opportunity to just spend time alone with Riley, was what made it so wonderful. While she loved her fellow mates, the chance to just spend time with Riley and enjoy their time together was so very wonderful.

The two spent every waking moment of their honeymoon together, having fun, talking about their future, having sex. In Fleur's opinion, it was quite possibly the best vacation she'd ever had. No worries, no outside distractions, just her and Riley, and their love.

Their honeymoon seemingly just flew by, whole days just vanishing into thin air, as they spent their time indulging themselves in their personal desires. By the end of it, Fleur could do nothing but wish it would go on and on forever.

"Ready to go home tomorrow?" Riley inquired, as the two lay in bed, cuddling up to one another.

"Yes. I have missed everyone." Fleur responded, with a bit less enthusiasm than she intended. She was happy to finally return home, but she wasn't excited for her honeymoon to end.

Riley smiled at that, and kissed her. "We could extend this trip a bit longer, if you want to." Riley offered with a smirk.

"I would love zat. But… I know if we indulge in such zings, we will never go back." Fleur responded with a sigh.

"It was a wonderful time though. I'll never forget it." Riley stated.

Fleur smiled at that, as she nuzzled closer to Riley. "Yes, it was wonderful. Zank you Riley. Zank you for such a wonderful time."

Riley's smile grew at that, as she watched Fleur slowly sink into slumber. Once she knew her wife was out, Riley turned her mind towards the events of the following day. If Walter was correct than Hellsing Manor would face an assault. This would be a delicate operation, Riley knew.

While enjoying her honeymoon, Riley had Loki keep an eye on how her friends were handling the situation back home.

It had been decided that they would keep the Legion's presence as a secret and instead, they chose to sure up Hellsing's defenses by hiring a mercenary company commanded by a muggleborn wizard. This wizard had left the magical world after his education, like so many muggleborns had in the past. He was french, his name was Pip Bernadotte. Being muggleborn, meant that he was aware of the existence of magic, and of creatures such as vampires, so when he was approached about the proposition of fighting alongside Hellsing against such a threat, he simply asked how much they were willing to pay him and his soldiers.

With the fall of the Statute on the horizon, Daphne didn't much care about hiding the existence of magic from people any longer, she was more so concerned about dealing with Millennium and their attacks, so she offered quite the handsome fee for the 'Wild Geese' to come and work for Hellsing.

The presence of such mercenaries also allowed them to keep the existence of the Legion a secret for a bit longer, at least until Millennium made it's move, and while Daphne didn't tell Itachi or Artoria about what she knew of Millennium's ultimate plan, she was able to convince them, that she suspected something major was coming, and that it would be better if they had secrecy on their side.

So with the addition of the Wild Geese, and the with Shikamaru and Shikaku coming up with a plan for the defense of the manor, everything was well in place to deal with the coming threat.

While Riley kept an eye on the situation, she was happy enough to allow her comrades to deal with the vampire menace.

-**Hellsing Manor, England.** **June 14****th**** 1999-**

"These transceivers have been discovered within the bodies of the vampires we've killed. It's quite obvious that someone has been watching them, using them to gather information from these attacks." Daphne informed the Round Table, displaying one of the small transceivers so that the rest of her fellows could view it as well.

This discovery had only been made recently, within the last few days, though it did make sense, as the enemy would need a way to gather information from these attacks, otherwise all they would have really been doing, was causing an annoyance.

The rest of the Round Table busied themselves with chatter, discussing this latest change while Daphne and Artoria locked eyes with one another from opposite ends of the table. They knew the attack had to be coming soon. This was the perfect time for it, after all. Right in the midst of their meeting, where everyone was focused on discussions.

Right then, a buzz went off in both of their ears.

"My fellows, an unidentified attacker has just breached the perimeter of the manor." Daphne stated, quite suddenly drawing surprised and confused gazes towards her.

A moment later and the building shook, something on the roof had just exploded, most likely the helicopter that belonged to the Hellsing organization.

The explosion rocked the building, and caused most of the surrounding members of the Round Table to rise to their feet, concern filling their gazes.

Daphne maintained her composure, counting down the seconds, while Artoria did the same.

"Sir Daphne, what is happening?" Came the demand for Sir Penwood, a long time ally of Arthur Hellsing, and friend of the organization before Richard Hellsing took over.

"Vampiric forces have launched an attack on the facility. We've gained information that indicated our enemies may plan to attack the Round Table, here today. We've taken steps to ensure that their attempt will fail. I ask you all to please remain calm, they will be dealt with shortly." Daphne responded, formally, earning confused looks from the surrounding knights who then turned their gazes towards Artoria, who nodded in agreement, her gaze hard, cold, and filled with focus. It was obvious that she was also aware of this threat, yet it seemed that none of them had been made aware.

"Why were we nod informed of such a threat to our lives?" Sir Hugh Irons inquired, calmly returning to his seat, accepting that Daphne and Artoria had the situation well in hand.

"There exists the possibility that these attacks are being orchestrated by a higher power, and that power most likely will have agents within our respective organizations. Information must be kept strictly 'need-to-know' until this threat is dealt with, to avoid any leaks. As Sir Daphne has said, the situation will be rectified shortly." Artoria responded with authority, showing them all that the leader of the Round Table, was well aware of this situation, even if the whole order, was not.

On the first floor of the Hellsing manor, two vampires, brothers Luke and Jan Valentine were leading an army of heavily armed and armored ghouls in through the front doors. The few guards they'd killed so far were actually water clones, made from blood with special seals put on them, so that their forms wouldn't dissipate until a few minutes after their deaths.

The two brothers had already made it into the facility and were already in the main hall of the manor.

"Alright, you lead the ghouls to go overrun the rest of the manor, I'm going to go find Alucard." Luke Valentine ordered his younger brother.

"Fine by me bro." Jan responded with a vicious grin.

"**You know… perhaps you dipshits should have checked to see if their were cameras around the facility before you came busting in here, cocks swinging like a bunch of horny frat boys."** Came a voice with a distinctive french accent, over a set of loud speakers.

Both brothers shared a look with one another, as two sets of doors burst open at the far end of the chamber, and in strolled Alucard, a vicious grin on his face.

"Oh now would you look at that, a bunch of dead men come walking in, uninvited. I'll have to teach them some manners." Alucard hummed with a chuckle.

"**The name of ze game is who can kill ze most dead men before the vampire-in-chief murders these two dipshits. Whoever wins ze game will get to enjoy a wonderful night of drinking and partying at a local club of his choosing courtesy of yours truly. Do please have some fun, and watch out for ze wall paintings, zey are quite expensive."** The same voice came over the loud speakers as dozens of men came bursting into the room, on the floor above, armed with AK-74s and grenades, they quickly came to the railing overlooking the horde of ghouls below and trained their weapons on them.

"Well shit..." Jan muttered as he glanced around.

"Don't just stand there, kill them!" Luke ordered pulling his weapon as Alucard did the same. The two began their battle as the Wild Geese began to rain fire down on the ghouls.

The battle itself was quick and decisive as the Wild Geese lobbed grenades into the crowd, while Alucard had fun fighting the two main vampires.'

"Go! Kill their leaders! I'll deal with Alucard!" Luke ordered.

"Fine by me." Jan replied dashing past Alucard and through the door he'd come through. He ran right into Seras and Walter.

Walter smirked cruelly as he lashed out with his micro-filament wires, which quickly wrapped around Jan's legs and began to slice through them.

Jan let out a scream of pain as the wires sliced through flesh, and then bones, severing his legs below the knees. Seras then quickly apprehended him, pinning his arms behind his back and keeping him from moving.

Out in the hall, Alucard released some of the restraints on his powers and let loose his familiar, the Hound of Baskerville.

The demonic dog tore into the crowd of ghouls devouring them wholesale and sending Luke Valentine fleeing in terror. The Wild Geese above quickly retreated back from the railing, tearing their eyes away from the carnage below. Despite all of them being muggles, they'd spent enough time with their commander to know that strange things existed in this world, and they had been briefed about the foe they were facing. So instead of watching the horror unfold they took that as their cue to pull back, while Alucard finished off the rest of the ghouls and then turned his attention to Luke Valentine.

"What the hell are you!" Luke screamed as he fired his gun at the dog.

"I am a nightmare, and you… you're nothing more than dog shit." Alucard responded before sending the hound forward to devour Luke, leaving nothing left of the vampire.

Back outside of the room, Walter stood over the bleeding Jan, while Seras held him in place.

"Police girl, you can release him." Walter stated as he brought his foot down on one of Jan's hands, breaking the bones in it, in the process.

"Fuck… you fucking bastards! How the fuck did you know we were coming?" Jan demanded with a growl as Seras removed herself from him.

"Weren't you listening? We saw you arrive. You want to attack a secure paramilitary compound, perhaps next time you shouldn't just kick down the front door and storm in like a bunch of imbeciles." Walter responded, glaring down at him.

"Well… you might as well kill me, because if you think for a moment I'm gonna tell you anything, your fucking dumber than you look." Jan responded.

"Fine by me." Cave the dark and gleeful responce from Alucard as he exited the main hall.

"Oh fuck..." Jan muttered as he heard the voice.

A moment later and the hound was on him, devouring the younger brother as well.

Walter offered a nod of approval while Seras kept herself from flinching at the violence of it all. She also did her best to avoid looking past her master, and into the main hall where dozens of shredded corpses now remained.

"Well… that went precisely as planned." Walter hummed, earning a smirk from Alucard.

"You thought it wouldn't?" The vampire inquired.

"Such well laid plans go awry, in my experience. Still… all is well that ends well." Walter responded.

Alucard simply chuckled in response while moving past them.

Up in the meeting room, a call came through from Pip, informing Daphne that the attackers had been dealt with.

"The threat has been ended, you can all rest easy now." Daphne informed her fellows.

"Quite brazen for this foe to attack us so openly, and during the day of all things. Do please, tell us what you know, sir Daphne." Hugh Irons inquired.

Daphne kept a bit to herself but she did inform them that she knew that name of their attackers, 'Millennium.'

From there, discussions turned towards what they could do to continue preparing for future attacks. Daphne sat silently, offering input whenever she thought it necessary. On the inside, her mind wandered, turning towards thoughts of the future, and what would happen once that Statute of Secrecy fell.

That night, Daphne and Artoria were having a discussion of their own, when Riley appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Hello babes, I heard everything went swimmingly, today." Riley greeted the two.

"It did, how was your honeymoon?" Daphne inquired in response.

"It was great, plenty of fun and enjoyment. So… any new bits of information gathered from the recent attack?" Riley asked.

"Only that our enemy is monitoring their soldiers through transceivers hidden in their bodies. Beyond that, nothing more." Artoria answered.

"I see. Well I guess we'll have to wait and see what new developments occur in the future. If they were monitoring this attack than they'll know we dealt with them quite handily, and their goals ultimately failed." Riley stated to the two, earning nods of agreement.

"We'll simply have to wait and see, and hope for the best." Daphne offered, knowing full well that the best was far from what was going to happen.

**-London, England. June 16th 1999-**

Riley sat across from Yugito, enjoying a nice meal and having pleasant conversations with the woman.

The two had been slowly growing closer as the day went by, Yugito had accepted Riley's offer for some joint training exercises, which the Two-Tails Jinchuriki found to be quite informative, and even enjoyable. Riley was incredibly skilled, and perceptive, and after a few training matches between the two, Riley was able to note the flaws in Yugito's combat style and offer her partner a few tips to correct them.

Now knowing that Riley was a lot older than she appeared, Yugito had no reason not to take Riley's words to heart and use her criticism to refine her style.

The training was enjoyable, to say the least, as was the dinner dates that usually followed afterwards. Riley found Yugito to be pleasant conversation when she was willing to open up. The Two-Tails Jinchuriki was quite playful and demure, when she wasn't acting so guarded.

Riley enjoyed her time with her, and more and more, Riley began to picture the two of them together.

As the two spent more time together, Riley's attitude changed from being playful and laid back, to more flirtatious and alluring, and it was obvious that Yugito was picking up on it.

Their recent dates had all ended in long make-out sessions between the two, which Riley was a big fan of. Despite Yugito's lack of experience, she seemed to really enjoy kissing, and was quite good at it.

Today was no different, as their dinner ended and they walked the streets of London, Riley was quick to pull Yugito into an alleyway and out of sight from anyone else, where the two could lock lips, and enjoy some passionate tongue wrestling.

As they kissed, Riley's hands found their way to Yugito's hips, where Yugito shuddered at the touch.

To Yugito, it felt like there was no cloth between Riley's hands and her skin. She could feel the soft flesh of Riley's hands, as if her dress wasn't even there.

It was same when Riley slid her hands around to grasp the firm flesh of Yugito's butt, earning a playful and excited chuckle from the Kumo ninja.

"Adventurous today?" Yugito hummed, while blushing.

"Well that's what happens when you date a tease. You keep leading me on like this, and who knows what'll happen." Riley replied as she kissed at Yugito's neck.

"Leading you on? What gave that impression?" Yugito inquired, her hand finding it's way into Riley's hair as the demoness continued to kiss her neck.

"Well this dress you're wearing certainly shows off a bit more leg then usual." Riley responded.

Yugito sighed pleasurably, but did not respond.

"You should know, I'm a big fan of a woman's legs, and where they lead." Riley whispered into Yugito's ear, giving her butt another playful squeeze before pulling away and locking eyes with her future mate.

Yugito stared back, her dark eyes meeting with Riley's **Rinne Sharingan**.

"Fun night?" Riley inquired.

"Very. We should do it again real soon." Yugito responded, initiating another kiss with Riley.

The two remained lip-locked for a few moments before separating.

"It's almost time for you to transfer back to Kumo. You've been here longer than anticipated." Riley noted.

"Yeah. I wont be gone for long though. I think I'm starting to enjoy our time together." Yugito offered, earning a smirk from Riley.

"Well if you want, I'll definitely come to visit you while you're back at Kumo, and you'll definitely see me when you transfer back to Suna." Riley said to her, causing Yugito to smile, and blush a bit.

"I think I'd like that." She said, as the two separated from their embrace. Riley was quick to take her hand, leading her back out onto the street, as they continue their walk.

Slowly but surely, Riley found herself falling for her companion, and she was certain that Yugito felt the same way.

All in all, another successful date.

**-Hellsing Manor, England. June 18th 1999-**

"Enrico Maxwell?" Daphne muttered, staring down at the letter, handed to her by Walter.

"Yes ma'am. The head of the Iscariot Organization. Alexander Anderson's commander." Walter informed her.

Daphne silently read the contents of the letter, if was a request to meet with Maxwell to discuss an information exchange that may be a benefit to Hellsing in dealing with their current situation.

"Do you think it's a trap?" Daphne inquired, offering the letter to Walter for him to read and develop his own opinion.

"I doubt Iscariot would be so bold as to invite you into an ambush, and in our territory, nonetheless. I suspect this is probably a genuine offer, the question is why?" Walter responded, returning the letter to her.

"Yes, 'why'. Inform Seras and Alucard, we'll travel to this meeting, but I intend to be prepared." Daphne ordered, earning a nod from her faithful servant.

As Walter turned to go and do his duties, Daphne focused her thoughts onto what Iscariot could possibly be planning. The Vatican's special forces had made their agenda quite clear by their brazen attack in Northern Ireland, so why offer to exchange information. The only answer was that they'd heard Hellsing was attacked. Perhaps they hoped to use this exchange to gather information on just how much damage was done to the organization. Regardless, Daphne intended to go prepared. Seras, Alucard, Walter, and someone the Iscariots would not anticipate.

-**London, England. June 20****th**** 1999-**

"They're late." Daphne hummed.

"Yes, it would appear so." Walter agreed.

Next to the two of them, Artoria stood silently, her eyes dancing from one piece of artwork, to another. Iscariot had asked for this meeting to be held in a museum, a place of delicacy and fine arts, somewhere neither side would seemingly be interested in causing a ruckus. Of course now the Iscariots were running late, leaving Daphne, Walter, and Artoria to stand around, admiring the art, and awaiting their arrival.

"They've kept them in such wonderful condition, as to be expected." The three heard a voice with a distinctive Italian accent.

Daphne's first impression of her rival, was that there was a certain viciousness to him. The violet hue of his eyes, and his long white hair, made him appear so very regal, and yet, behind the veneer, she could see violence. Her time with shinobi and death eaters, had made her accustomed to seeing underneath the underneath.

"You're late." Daphne noted aloud, her gaze, heavy and piercing.

Enrico Maxwell, and his compatriot shared a look with one another, before Enrico smiled and offered her a polite greeting.

"Ah, Sir Daphne Greengrass Slytherin Hellsing. It is so very nice to make your acquaintance. I am Bishop Enrico Maxwell, head of the Vatican's Special Section XIII." Enrico greeted, his charming smile, doing nothing to hide the malice in his eyes.

"Enough with the pleasantries. You have a lot of nerve coming here, after what you did. Don't think I've forgotten what your pet pulled in Northern Ireland. I don't take kindly to assaults on my person." Daphne responded, making it clear that she had no intentions of pretending that Maxwell and herself were anything other than rivals.

"Do please cease with your whining. Had it been possible, I would have ordered you and your entire organization butchered, and burned to the ground. I am here on orders from his holiness, so you will shut up, and listen you satanic sow." Enrico responded, releasing his grasp on the mask of pleasantry he wore, and unleashing his vile contempt for her.

Daphne's gaze hardened even further at that, as she felt her shadow writhe, rage building within the wraith, as it channeled Riley's fury at such an insult. Were Riley here, she would have immediately killed the man for calling her such a thing, though his words did offer her a bit of insight into his mind. He knew she was a witch, by inferring that she had ties to satanism. Which meant that in case of a fight, he was probably prepared for magic.

Luckily, Daphne had come prepared, and had a gun sealed away into a seal on her wrist, just in case. While nowhere near the best shot in the Legion, her training under Riley meant that she was a better shot than most muggle soldiers in the world.

"Such insults… a thousand years of Christian rhetoric has left very little to change." Came the voice of Alucard as he stepped through a wall behind Daphne, a cool grin on his face.

"Ah, the monster, Alucard. I don't believe we've had the pleasure." Enrico noted, offering the count and courteous bow.

"Not so much of a pleasure, seeing as how I've now got to put a bullet in you. No one calls my masters a sow, and walks away unpunished." Alucard hummed drawing his silver gun, and leveling it at Enrico's head.

The head of the Iscariot Organization did not flinch at the sight of the weapon, and maintained his composure, even stepping forward a few paces while smiling. "And how is one to react with a gun pointed at their head? I guess the only reasonable answer, is to say that turnabout is fair play."

He then snapped his fingers and called for his subordinate Alexander Anderson. At the far end of the hall behind Maxwell, Anderson seemingly appeared from nowhere, drawing his bayonets.

He began to recite a biblical verse as he crossed the hall towards them.

Enrico seemed to sense that Anderson had no intention of just posturing, as Alucard drew his newest weapon, gifted to him by Walter, an all black handgun that fired anti-monster ammunition, code-named the Jackal.

Both warriors began to laugh to one another, as they prepared to fight, only for a golden flash of light to momentarily blind both of them, causing them both to cringe and turn away.

Standing between them was Artoria, **Excalibur** sheathed in **Invisible Air** held firmly in threat towards the Vatican's agents.

"You will not fight here. Not in our lands. Your previous attack has made your position clear. This is a peaceful parlay, nothing more. Speak your reasons for coming, and then leave. Upon completion of this meeting, you will return to being our foes." Artoria commanded, her gaze piercing into the hearts of all three Iscariot agents.

Anderson slowly lowered his weapons, his sight quickly returning to him. Confusion filled his gaze as he analyzed the small feminine figure that carried an almost otherworldly aura of command and focus. Despite being the smallest person present, she held herself far taller than even the vampire lord himself.

The shimmering air, she held like a blade, and her powerful stance, indicated a skilled warrior, yet she couldn't be more than a teenager. Her size and youthful appearance, put her at her mid teens at the oldest.

She was dressed similarly to Daphne, and Walter, in a formal black suit, with black tie, and black gloves.

"And who might you be?" Alexander inquired curiously, his question earned a chuckle of amusement from Alucard who had already put his guns away, bowing to the will of the young woman.

"I am Sir Artoria Pendragon. Head of the Knights of the Round Table, and the Convention of Twelve. And you would be Alexander Anderson, Paladin of the Iscariot Organization, Judas' Priest." Artoria responded, causing Enrico Maxwell to curse internally, as he realized that any attempt to further posture would be met with failure, Artoria had proven that her strength and presence far outweighed the bickering of their two organizations.

"Pendragon?" Alexander hummed as his eyes fell to the shimmering air that she held like a sword.

"_Could that be… is it possible she carries the Holy Sword of Promise Victory?" _Alexander wondered, having only caught a glimpse of the blade from within that burst of golden light.

"The King of Knights does have a point. It would be rude to engage in such violence during parlay." Alucard offered with a smirk.

Alexander was silent for a moment as he pondered the vampire's words, his eyes suddenly went wide, understanding dawning in his gaze as a smirk touched at his lips.

"Aye, it would be very rude indeed. We'll have to continue this later you wretched vampire." Anderson offered, turning and marching away, chuckling to himself as he did.

"If there's nothing else my master, I'm going back to sleep. Getting up in the middle of the day is exhausting." Alucard also quickly departed, leaving Daphne and Enrico staring at one another.

"Shall we take this to one of the cafes so that we can discuss things in private?" Daphne asked.

"Yes, I do believe that would be best." Enrico agreed, the two heading off together, leaving Walter, Artoria, and Enrico's comrade alone.

Walter let out a sigh of relief turning his gaze over to where Seras was standing by, dressed up as a tour guide, ready to lead a collection of withered old tourists right past the standoff, just in case things started to escalate.

He offered her a thumbs up which she returned, happy that a fight didn't break out.

Artoria watched the two depart as she returned **Excalibur **to her side and let out a sigh. So far, further fighting had been averted, now it was time to wait and see what Daphne would gather from the Iscariots.

**-Hellsing Manor, England. That night-**

"Brazil?" Alucard hummed.

"Yes… it would seem so." Walter agreed.

"So, it was as I suspected. The Nazis have returned, Millennium." Alucard openly stated, his eyes locked onto the moon, hung high in the night sky.

"What gave you the idea that it would be them?" Walter inquired curiously.

"There are only a handful of organizations or groups that willfully command the undead with such ferocity. Myself, Hellsing, and Millennium are a few I can quickly list off." Alucard responded.

"I see. Hard to imagine that they'd be back. We destroyed them once before, didn't we?" Walter asked, earning a chuckle from the old count.

"Your memory is starting to slip. One of the curses of getting old. I'm happy to not have to experience such things." Alucard said with a smirk.

"To be young again, with a mind so clear and focused. Though growing old does have it's benefits. If I could take the things I know now and place them into the body I had in my prime, well..." Walter trailed off with a smirk.

"A return of the Angel of Death, unlike anything seen before. Now that would be interesting indeed." Alucard grinned in response as the door opened into the room they were in.

Both turned their gazes to find Daphne standing there.

"Walter had already informed you, I assume?" Daphne inquired.

"That he has my master." Alucard responded.

"Than your orders are simple. Search and Destroy. Find Millennium, and kill them all." Daphne ordered, earning a vicious grin from Alucard.

He offered her a bow, his grin growing more vicious as he did. "It will be done, my beloved master."

**-Hellsing Manor, England. June 22nd 1999-**

Daphne stared into the television monitors, watching the scene unfold from the opposite end of the world.

In Rio De Janeiro, Alucard, Pip Bernadotte, and Seras had been deployed to seek out information on Millennium, only to be immediately attacked by BOPE units.

The attack occurred on local city networks, and heavily redacted versions were broadcast across the country. It was obvious to Daphne, that immediately following the attack, the local magical government went into overdrive to try and suppress the incident, as Alucard had displayed some of his vampiric powers as he dealt with his attackers.

At the end of the police attack, Alucard was confronted by an agent of Millennium, a vampire that wielded special playing cards as weapons. The two fought, causing chaos and destruction, but the Millennium agent was eventually put down with help from Seras.

Pip was also able to assassinate the corrupted officers who were working for Millennium, by placing a bomb in their command tent.

Before his body could be destroyed, Alucard was able to drink the enemy vampire's blood, and gain access to a bit of information that the vampire lord deemed valuable enough to warrant a return home.

Alucard, Pip, and Seras were forced into hiding for a few hours as a plan was formed to smuggle them out of the country, only for Anderson to arrive at their hideout with news that they were being offered a way out by the Vatican. In exchange for immediately leaving the country, the Vatican offered a private jet to get them back to England.

It was obvious that not even Iscariot was prepared for the chaos Alucard and his foe unleashed during their battle.

The incident in Rio was enough to spark an outcry throughout the magical world, as now the Queen herself was calling for a summit meeting between her forces and the Vatican's to discuss how to deal with Millennium in a way that didn't shatter the Statute of Secrecy.

Just like with the attack on Dover by Iwa and Oto, the Statute of Secrecy had been pushed to it's limits.

A third incident was unlikely to be as easily hidden. The time was coming, Daphne could feel it. The Summit was scheduled for August fifth, giving them a little over a month to prepare for this meeting, and gather their data.

Until then, Daphne would find herself buried in meetings with the Round Table, to discuss their own plan of action, and be ready to present it to the queen when the time was right. One could only hope that Millennium stayed quiet until then.

-**Kumogakure no Sato, Elemental Nations. June 25****th**** 1999-**

"Happy to be home?" Mabui inquired to Yugito.

"It is nice to finally be back. I was starting to get homesick." Yugito responded.

The two were currently walking towards the council chambers, where the Kumo council, along with the Raikage were waiting for a meeting with her.

"I don't really know what they're looking for, everything I did during my time in Suna and Britain is written down in my report." Yugito wondered aloud.

"Yes, the Raikage and council probably just was to discuss a few details with you, this shouldn't take more than an hour." Mabui assured her with a kind smile, earning one in response as they made it to their destination.

"Yugito, welcome back." The Raikage greeted her upon entrance.

"Thank you, my lord. It's good to be back home." Yugito responded with a bow.

"We've asked you here today to discuss some of the details of your report, or perhaps it's better to say, the lack of details." The Jonin commander explained to her, earning a curious look from Yugito.

"I'm sure I noted anything of interest that caught my ear, councilor. I wasn't under orders to spy on them, so I made no attempts to actively seek out anything. Anything that was offered to me, I assumed was offered in full compliance with our alliance, beyond that, I'm not sure what you could be insinuating." Yugito responded with confusion.

"This has nothing to do with that, Yugito. You weren't under any orders to spy on them, and none of us were expecting you to return with stolen secrets. What we're more curious about is your time spent with the Hero of the Burning Leaf, the Nine and Ten tails' Jinchuriki. How goes your relationship, are you making any headway towards furthering our alliance, is there any new information about her you can share that wont explicitly harm our alliance with her?" The Raikage explained, earning a nod of understanding from Yugito.

She did her best to hide the fact that she was nervous, but unfortunately they seemed to catch on, and even worse, they seemed to note that it wasn't a shameful kind of embarrassment, like she had failed, more so something akin to unwanted exposure.

"Well… she and I have been getting close… my lord. We've gone on several dates. We've trained together. We've talked… I'd say I'm making plenty of headway." Yugito responded, doing her best to remain professional, despite her embarrassment.

"Has the relationship turned physical? Such bonds are instrumental in securing our alliance. A marriage will be the first step, but eventually a child will be what fully unites our peoples." The ANBU commander inquired, her gaze heavy, and calculating, making Yugito feel small and vulnerable.

She was silent for a moment, as she tried not to blush, and compose herself. "I'm… making headway. Things are proceeding naturally. She was recently married to her second wife, Fleur Delacour, and they've started to have a family together. So while her interest has turned towards marriage and children, her focus hasn't entirely been on just our relationship, and she has also been courting another, while we've been dating. With that being said though, I cannot complain. If you would like an official timeline, I can say with certainty that by the time I cycle back to Britain we will more than likely be an official couple. By that point in time, we can begin setting up a date for our wedding."

The councilmen nodded at that, accepting her answer, and even sharing several whispers amongst each other, curious to learn that Riley was having a child with her second wife already.

"I see. Continue on, as you have been, and use your judgment. I know it's embarrassing but this alliance is crucial for out prosperity in the future. If there are any issues we need to know about them, so please, continue." A ordered, earning a nod of understanding from Yugito.

She would definitely need to spend some time with Karui with this was all said and done, though she suspected her young friend was going to give her crap for it, still after the embarrassment of this meeting, she was definitely going to need to relax.

With that in mind, she started from the beginning, explaining everything she'd learned about Riley that she didn't think was meant to be a secret. The next time she saw Riley, she'd have to ask her for clarification on certain things, she she'd know what was alright to reveal and what Riley didn't want shared.

**-Riley's home, London, England. July 15th 1999-**

"Wow Fleur, you're really starting to get big." Katie noted, as Fleur stepped into the bath. In the darkness of their nighttime activities she hadn't really noticed just how pregnant Fleur was looking. It almost seemed like she had gone from a baby bump, to full on big belly, overnight.

Fleur glanced down at her belly, and ran her hands over it. "I know. Seems like I am heavier every day."

"Well it's doing wonders for your breasts." Katie offered, earning a giggle from Fleur, as her hands raised up to hold her growing breasts in her hands.

"That is a nice benefit. I know Riley enjoys it." Fleur responded with another giggle, before stepping into the bath, and joining Katie in the relaxing waters.

Both of them proceeded to help each other wash off before turning their gaze over to where Daphne was sitting alone, quietly relaxing.

Over the past couple of weeks, Daphne had spent the majority of her time in meetings with the Round Table. She had an audience with the Queen at the start of next month, and thus, was very busy preparing. This left her quite exhausted most of the time, and meant that she was a bit irritable these last few days, as she tried to remain calm and keep her stress down.

Almost as if on cue, Riley entered with Kaede, and Luna, all three naked, with Riley's arms draped around them. Both women were focused on Riley, and seemed to have tunnel vision in regards to her, a sure sign that Riley had just had sex with both of them, and they were still coming down from the high.

The three entered the bath, and relaxed, both cuddling up with Riley, enjoying the pleasant feeling of the water.

Katie and Fleur shared a look with one another, smirking knowingly.

It was so often the case that Riley managed to invoke such tunnel vision in her mates. Only those outside seemed to notice it when it happened. Watching Luna and Kaede cuddle with her, touch her, whisper to her, playfully giggle as she whispered back, it was almost as if neither noticed the other, and only saw themselves, and Riley.

It was a unique facet of their relationship with the demoness, her ability to make each of her mates feel like they were the sole recipient of her attention. It was definitely an acquired trait, something she had developed over years of multi-tasking and splitting her focus between various aspects of her life. At nearing two hundred years old, Riley had definitely mastered the art of multi-tasking.

It was probably the reason why their relationship worked so well. Riley had no concept of time bearing down on her. There was no end in sight for her. She never really felt rushed, and never really seemed to be crunched for time. If she wanted to, she could enter **Kamui**, and turn a single day into many years. If she wanted to train, or even if she just needed time to think, plan, organize her mind, meditate, or even analyze a situation, she had all the time she wanted. Which meant that when she was with her mates, if she sensed that one of them was in need of her full attention, she would take them away into her pocket dimension and spend time with them. Hours, days, however long they needed to feel satisfied, and then she would return them, no more than a few seconds from the moment of their departure, where she would repeat the process with another mate if needed.

It was actually something that both Katie and Fleur wondered about. Despite all of the time Riley spent with her mates as a whole, she actually spent far more time with them individually, almost always in **Kamui**.

In fact, many of them had spent so much time with Riley in **Kamui** they were probably almost two years older than they should have been.

It didn't hurt their relationship that due to Riley's magic they could feel her emotions through it, and because of that, never doubted her affections for them, or just how much she loved them. In fact, Riley often held herself in check, keeping her feeling under control so as no to overwhelm her lovers. This was as true for her anger, as it was for her love.

An enjoyable thing, to be sure. One that made their relationship so much more intimate.

Though outside of the musings on their relationships, and Fleur's pregnancy, there was an air of discontent surrounding them. Daphne was on edge, which was understandable, but Riley was also a bit to care free about it. Normally she'd be all over a problem her mates were having, but here she seemed more focused on enjoying her time with them, rather than dealing with whatever issue Daphne was dealing with.

This left both Fleur and Katie to wonder if perhaps the two had been fighting, or if Daphne had told Riley to back-off and leave the situation in her hands? The two didn't seem at odds with one another, so it was unlikely they had fought. Maybe Daphne had asked that this be left in her hands, so Riley was keeping her distance, or at least making it look like she was keeping her distance.

Regardless, it was apparent to the two, that Riley and Daphne were in on something major, and were keeping it to themselves. For now, they could only hope the two worked it out, and they'd make themselves available if Riley or Daphne needed them.

-**London, England. August 5****th**** 1999-**

The meeting with the queen had finally arrived. In attendance was Hellsing, the Legion, the Round Table, and even the Iscariot organization. Millennium was deemed a threat to everyone's interests, and the Queen had decided they were all going to work together to deal with it.

Despite their rivalry with one another, Iscariot seemed almost to eager to assist. Maxwell was in attendance, along with a few other agents, despite the fact that he'd make it clear what he thinks of Daphne and Hellsing.

Even Riley was present for the meeting, standing with Itachi and Shikaku Nara.

Hellsing quickly brought everyone up to speed on what they knew about their enemy and they even gained a bit of backstory from Alucard who explained to them that during World War II, he and Walter were dispatched by the Hellsing Organization to hunt down and destroy a group of Nazi scientists, calling themselves Millennium. They'd succeeded and thought they had wiped out the group, but apparently some members had survived and were continuing with their mission.

The mandate of Millennium was to create an army of enhanced vampires, and use them to trigger a thousand year war. Millennium was a group set on anarchy, they cared nothing for the Statute of Secrecy, if they even knew it existed. It was unclear how much Millennium knew about the magical world, or if they even knew about it at all. Regardless of whether they knew, their organization was well on it's way to forcing the unveiling of the entirety of magical culture and that was something that simply could not be allowed to pass.

They had to be stopped.

Riley stood quietly listening as they council discussed what they planned to do, when she suddenly felt a powerful demonic presence enter the room. It was so sudden and from out of nowhere that it surprised her. There was no arrival for this presence, it just appeared, like it just spontaneously burst into existence, right in this very room.

She turned her gaze away from the chatter, almost in unison with Alucard, both landing on a teenage blonde haired boy, sporting cat ears on top of his head, and a furry tail, waving behind him. He was pale white, and dressed in the uniform of a Hitler Youth.

When their eyes fell upon him, he smiled.

"Hello!" He greeted, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

All eyes quickly turned towards the boy as he strolled forward. The guards in the room quickly had their weapons drawn on his as he approached, while Alucard let out a chuckle.

Riley eyed the boy intently, he radiated with unnatural magics, that were highly corrupted. He was most definitely a half-demon, and definitely one that had embraced his demonic heritage if cat ears and tail were any indication.

"Please, please. Do not shoot ze messenger. I am simply here to deliver a greeting from our vonderful organization." The boy offered, setting a small mobile television on the table and turning it on.

Upon the screen appeared a stout, round man, with pale skin, bright blonde hair and startling yellow eyes. He wore a cruel grin that spread from ear to ear.

"_Good day."_ He spoke in German, his words earning cackling laughter from Alucard.

"So the little bastard yet lives… I truly am going to enjoy this." Alucard laughed to himself, indicating that he'd met the man before.

"Ah, dearest Alucard, it has been far to long. I am happy to see you again. Ah and if it isn't the newest head of ze Hellsing Organization, Sir Daphne Greengrass Slytherin Hellsing. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Who else is in attendance I vonder, I see ze mighty round table, our dear friends from ze vatican, and even her majesty ze queen. Oh how marvelous!" The man stated cheerfully.

With everyone's attention on him, no one noticed the cat-eared boy staring intently at Riley, a smile forming on his face.

Riley stared back, with far greater intensity.

The boy fished something out of his pocket and held it in his hand, he then winked at her, earning surprise and confusion from Riley.

It was in that moment, that Riley felt an intrusion into her mind. She felt the Gravemind react, as well as Alma.

Quickly Riley retreated into her head space, to find the boy suspended by his ankle held aloft by the Gravemind.

"**How in the fuck did he get in here so easily?" **Kurama demanded, making his presence known.

The Cat boy seemed unbothered by his predicament and simply let out a cheerful laugh as he swung back and forth from the Gravemind's tentacle.

"Why are you in my head?" Riley demanded, as she stood before the boy.

"I figured we could talk easier, whiz no one to hear us." The boy responded with a smile holding out his closed fist. He then opened it revealing a pitch black feather held between his fingers to keep it from falling.

Riley's eyes went wide at the sight of it, as did Kurama's.

"Hello Mozer." The boy greeted cheerfully, never losing his smile.

"You're… mine..." Riley muttered as the Gravemind lowered the boy to the ground and released him.

"Yes. Hello brozer, sister." He sent greeting towards the shadow of The Darkness, as well as towards Alma, who was watching the stranger from a distance.

"Wait… you know who I am? You know about your siblings?" Riley asked, confused, as it finally settled in that one of her children had literally just walked into her life.

"Yes. My older brozer told me about you. Said zat I would meet you one day." The boy responded, never losing his smile.

"Your older brother?" Riley parroted back.

"Yes. A piece of his essence is wiz all of us." The boy explained, holding up the feather again.

"In the feathers?" Riley muttered, eyeing the feather curiously.

"Yes. He and I have similar powers, so I could actually speak to him ven I vas younger. He taught me how to control my abilities. He left to go and look out for some of ze ozers. But I occasionally feel his presence." The boy explained to her.

"So… one of my children is actually tied into the feathers I gave you. Is that the reason the feathers never leave their respective owner? This, older brother?" Riley inquired.

"Yes. He keeps ze fezers nearby, I can still feel him, but I know he is not here right now. He exists wiz each piece of you, left wiz us. All at once. He and I share in zis metaphysical ability. Zough our powers do share certain differences." The boy explained to her.

"So one of my children has bound himself to each of my feathers, and is keeping them with his siblings so I can find them. He's, in a way, existing in multiple places at the same time. Yet his consciousness is able to transfer between the points that he's connected. Which is why you can feel him, but he's not here." Riley reiterated his explanation to her, voicing her understanding.

"Ja!" The boy responded happily.

"And you can do something similar?" Riley asked.

"Ja. I was able to speak wiz my brozer do to my abilities. He taught me how to hone zem. My abilities can best be described as, 'I zink, zerefore I am." The boy offered to her, earning a confused look. He chuckled at her look of confusion and decided to elaborate. "My name is Schrödinger. Ze head doctor of Millennium named me zat, when he learned of my abilities. I can exist in any state I so choose, so long as I am my own observer. I was able to get into you meeting because I believed I was zere. I was able to get into your head because I believed I here."

Understanding dawned on Riley, as she took in his explanation and the relevance of his name. 'Schrödinger'.

"**So he can just appear wherever? How the hell does that work."** Kurama asked.

"His name is based on a thought experiment conducted by a scientist of the same name. He put forth the idea that if you place a cat in a box, with a vial of poison that could be spilled at any moment, and them close the box so as to remove any observer, than according to the laws of quantum mechanics, the cat is, at that moment, technically alive and dead. Only the cat would know of it's state of existence, to the rest of us, it exists in a state of limbo because we do not know what has happened within the box. Either possibility exists, that the cat is either dead or alive, and thus, both possibilities are technically true, and it remains that way, so long as the cat is unobserved in the box." Riley explained, earning a slow nod of understanding from Kurama as he caught on to what she was saying.

"**How the hell did you know that?"** He asked, curiously.

"From some people I absorbed. I actually learned in recently and killing and absorbing the souls of the scientists in Fairport, the ones working for Armacham. It's a thought experiment tied into quantum mechanics, but given his abilities, it sounds like it was a fitting name to give him." Riley answered, earning a smile from the Cat-boy.

"Indeed. I exist of my own volition because I recognize my own existence. Zis is a concept shared my all demons, as they are sentient magic, and if zat magic stopped recognizing itself, zen it would dissipate into nozingness and zee demon would technically die. I am only a half-demon, but given who one of my mozers is, it comes at no surprise zat I can do zese zings. My older brozer has ze same power, but he is a full demon, and zus, can exist in many places at once. I am in full control over my reality, and I exist because I believe I exist. If I suddenly believed I existed in your head, zen I will appear zere, just like zis!" The boy offered to her, earning a further nod of understanding from both Kurama and Riley.

By now, Alma had approached and was curiously eyeing the Schrödinger and his animalistic features.

"Hello sister." Schrödinger offered cheerfully, frightening Alma away from his with his bubbly personality.

"Your hair is an olive blonde, just like a certain Jinchuriki I know, that has an affinity for cats." Riley noted, smirking to herself.

So this boy belonged to her and Yugito, meaning Yugito was definitely the right choice for a mate, and Riley they were meant to be. And there was another son. A full demon with the power to exist across space and time. Such power would mark his as at least a greater level entity, but such control meant that he was at least a fiend, possibly even a devil, like the Darkness.

"What is this other brother's name?" Riley asked.

The boy looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling, he then wrote three letters in air.

'W.D.G'

Riley stared at the boy for several long moments before nodding. Looking at those three letters made her feel strange. Her magic was twisting in the presence of those initials, almost as if the force behind it was an aspect of some sort, able to manipulate time and space by it's mere existence. Even with his control this child was still monstrously powerful. Possibly stronger than a tailed beast if merely writing his initials within Riley's mind could cause her magic to shift in unnatural ways.

The effect could have been resisted, if Riley chose to but instead she allowed herself to memorize the feeling, hoping it would help her when the time came to finally meet this child.

"So… why hasn't he revealed himself to me, if he exists with all of the feathers? And why haven't you sought me out if you knew who I was?" Riley asked the boy.

"Well… he cannot truly manifest until all of our fezers are togezer. And as for me, I did not know where you were or what you looked like until I saw you just now." The boy answered.

"I see. So… Millennium took you in, gave you a name, I'm guessing that means they raised you?" Riley noted.

"Eh… not really. I was already a boy by the time ze doctor took me in. I couldn't really remember my name and he did not care to help me. He gave me a new one after he learned of my abilities. It was mostly my brother and myself who raised me." Schrödinger explained to her.

"So you're not allied with Millennium?" Riley asked.

"No, not really. I am a demon, and they do let me have a bit of mischievous fun, but outside of zeir ability to allow me to sate my desires, I only really hang around because I have nowhere else to go. Now zat we have met, I can stay wiz you!" Schrödinger responded, earning a soft smile from Riley as she nodded.

"I think I would like that." Riley said, when suddenly Schrödinger flinched and the loud bang of a gun going off brought Riley out of her mind and back into the present.

She saw Schrödinger fly back as his head was a taken off by a bullet from Alucard, while Seras took out the tv that he had brought in.

For only the briefest moment, Riley was stunned, when she heard the familiar voice of the cat-boy speak in her head.

"_Ow. That jerk! That really hurt!"_ He spoke in German.

Riley stood confused for a moment, when she blinked. The moment her eyes left the bloody body of her son, it vanished. Quite literally in the space between seconds, his body, all of the blood, and bits from his grisly death, simply disappeared from the floor, as if they were never there to begin with.

"_I think, therefore I am."_ The boy repeated in her mind, causing a smirk to form across Riley's face.

Despite being a half-demon, he possessed the same immortality as a full demon. In fact, his resistance was probably greater than that of a normal demon, due to his powers. So long as he believed he was alive, than he would be alive. So even a mortal injury like getting his head blown off, would not kill him.

"_So mother, what should we do now?"_ Schrödinger inquired from within her mind.

"_How would you like to help me turn the tables on your former employers?" _Riley inquired. She felt the boy smirk in her mind, in response to her question.

From there Riley began to conspire with her newly discovered son, learning about Millennium's true plan, and what it's leader, The Major, truly desired.

Around her, the Round Table continued it's discussion, after having received a threat from The Major, and a promise that their would be war.

Riley went relatively unnoticed as she half payed attention to her surroundings and instead focused on formulating an exact plan of action for the coming attack. With the aid of Schrödinger, she now knew exactly what her enemy intended to do next.

Quickly a full plan came together, and she sent her newest child to go and spy on his former employers.

The meeting continued on, well into the night, as those present discussed Millennium's threat, and the possibility that if they failed to stop them, the Statute of Secrecy could shatter.

**-London, England. August 9th 1999-**

Riley sat atop the tower of London, staring out across the city. Earlier that night, news had reached the British military that one of their aircraft carriers had been attacked and capture by Millennium forces. A strike team of the SAS was sent to recapture the carrier only to be taken out by some sort of long range attack.

The round table was forced to turn to Hellsing to try and retake the carrier.

Riley was present, for the meeting, and while Daphne, Artoria, and Walter were discussing a plan of action, Riley, using the knowledge provided to her by her son, pointed out that this seemed like a convenient way to get Alucard away from the mainland and out to a point where it would be difficult for him to return.

To her this not only seemed like a trap, but a trap meant to set the stage for their main assault.

Daphne, Artoria, and Walter took in her assessment, and agreed with it.

They were quick to fine-tune their idea to account for this possibility, and decided that they would arm Alucard with a portkey so that he could quickly return upon completion of his mission. They also sent word to Itachi about their suspicions and asked him to prepare the Legion so that it was ready to react at a moments notice.

Then, armed with a plan from Walter, Hellsing appropriated a decommissioned stealth jet, to use to get close to the enemy without their knowledge.

Riley could have offered to do it herself, or just take the vampire there to handle it, but it didn't really matter in the end. Shit was about to hit the fan.

Riley knew the attack was coming soon, most likely this very same night.

So with that in mind, Riley pulled Walter aside once his meeting with Daphne and Artoria was completed and she made him an offer that he couldn't refuse. Come the dawn, the Angel of Death would return, more powerful then ever.

Afterwords, she quickly sent word to her mates, that she was going into **Kamui **to train for a little while. If anything out of the ordinary occurred, she asked them to call her back immediately. Most of them treated it as no big deal, not knowing anything major was going to happen that night.

Daphne understood that Riley was using this as an excuse to be unaware of the earliest moments of the attack. By being in **Kamui** training, Riley could realistically lie and say she wasn't around for the start of the attack, and thus didn't sense the enemy coming into her perceptive field. She also only intended to be gone for an hour or two, so no one was really overly worried.

In reality Riley sat waiting in the real world, her senses keyed into her surroundings. Even now she could feel that Alucard had been successful in dealing with the enemy, and had already returned. His return to the mainland was kept a secret to prevent Millennium from altering their plans, as far anyone was concerned, he was not stuck on an aircraft carrier three hundred kilometers off the coast.

A whisper from Schrödinger quickly touched her mind, informing her that the attack had begun.

Riley listened to the sounds of the city, as she felt death and bloodshed fill her other senses. It started quiet, no doubt with infiltrators at British military bases across the country. These infiltrators sabotaged military equipment and vehicles preventing a rapid response to the attack that was coming.

Major political figures were quietly assassinated in their homes, out of sight, and out of mind, ensuring that most of the capable leaders would be dead, and thus, unable to organize any sort of retaliation. This included members of the Royal Family.

Riley offered them barely a second thought, knowing deep down that despite the peace and order they provided, what came next would be far more beneficial to her and her allies. The needs of her friends and family, outweighed the needs of the many.

So Riley remained silent, feeling as painful death and betrayal echoed out from all corners of the country. From Northern Ireland to the heart of London, come the dawn, ninety percent of the muggle government would be gone.

This continued for many hours as Riley waited for Daphne to call out to her, slowly a sight came into view. Three large zeppelins came cruising in over the city. Riley felt the terrible force of magic onboard.

Nearly a thousand SS soldiers turned into vampires.

Riley rose to her feet as the attack began. From the zeppelins, a barrage of missiles was launched. These rockets didn't seem to be targeting anything in specific, instead they detonated across the city, setting fire to buildings and burning a massive swastika into the earth.

"_Charming."_ Riley noted with annoyance.

"_Riley… I think it's happening. Everything just started to shake, and our communications here with the round table have been down now for several hours. Maybe it's time for you to 'come back'."_ Riley heard Daphne call out to her.

"_Will do."_ Riley responded with a smirk.

She made her way towards Daphne's position, arriving just in time to find a number of British guards and even a member of the Round Table dead. Walter was busy flexing his wrists and smirking, while Daphne sat annoyed and Artoria looked deeply upset.

"What the hell happened here?" Riley inquired.

"Traitor." Daphne muttered in response.

"Ah." Riley responded, stepping over one of the bodies and up to her wife, checking to make sure she was unharmed, and offering Walter a nod of approval.

"Communications are back up! We've got reports coming in, attacks on our bases, the city is on fire!" Came a shout from one of the nearby military personnel.

"Shit!" Daphne hissed, shooting to her feet.

"Yeah, fuckers burned a giant ass swastika into the city. I think it's about time we go and do something about that." Riley noted, earning a nod of agreement from Daphne and Artoria.

"She is right. All of you, retreat to safety. Hellsing and the Legion will deal with these aggressors. We will drive them out and hunt them to the last." Artoria commanded, her battle dress and armor materializing around her as she rose to her feet.

"I agree. I will… remain here to try and coordinate our defenses." Sir Penwood offered, though he was obviously unnerved and not as confident as he wanted to be.

"You'll do fine, Sir Penwood. I'll see to it that several Legionaries make their way here to guard our command center." Artoria offered, earning a nod from the man.

"Well if that's settled, then lets go. We've got a city to protect." Daphne stated, turning to head out.

"_London is under attack. Kaede, Luna, keep and eye on Fleur and stay in the house. Katie, if Itachi isn't aware yet, let him know and stay safe, my love. I'm with Daphne, we're going to deal with this threat." _Riley sent to her nearest five mates, knowing that Katie was probably still at work with the Legion while the others could see the attack from Riley's home.

She received a chorus of replies telling her and Daphne to stay safe, and to look out for one another.

Riley was quick to join Artoria, Walter, and Daphne as they departed the building and exited out into the war zone.

"Where's Alucard?" Riley inquired.

"Around. Best to keep him hidden until we get close to our enemy. I wont have them run away before we can corner them and kill them." Daphne responded, earning a nod of agreement from Riley and Artoria.

"Well then. I guess we'll have to do until then." Riley responded with a smirk.

She offered Walter a look and nodded her head, releasing a **Glamour **she had placed on him. Daphne and Artoria both looked surprised as Walter's elderly features faded, and he seemingly reverted in age to his late twenties, early thirties, the prime of his life.

"Wh-What…?" Daphne began, confused.

"I gave Walter here the Elixir of Life, as payment for his loyalty to you. Tonight, the legendary Angel of Death, shall return to destroy his old foes." Riley explained, as Walter took in a breath and ran his hands over the smooth flesh of his face. He then smirked and cracked his neck, straightening up his posture and loosing the look of an elderly man.

"Shall we go, Sir Daphne?" Walter inquired, earning a smile from her.

"Yes, we shall. You look good." She offered to him, causing his smirk to turn into a gentle smile.

"Thank you ma'am."

"I'll leave you three to your own devices. I'm gonna go put a halt to these attacks. Let's see how long these vampire pricks last against me." Riley offered to the three, vanishing in a burst of speed.

"We should make for the headquarters, rally our forces there and join the Legion in a counter attack." Artoria ordered.

"I agree." Daphne responded, with Walter nodding as well.

"Well then. Shall we go? Or would you rather we deal with them first?" Walter asked, gesturing towards a swarm of reanimated ghouls that was marching down the road towards them.

"Damn them all." Daphne snarled, while Artoria shot forward without any hesitation and began to cut down the undead abominations.

"Let's deal with them." Daphne ordered, rushing to join with Artoria, along with Walter.

Elsewhere in the city, Riley landed amongst a horde of ghouls. She was quick to draw her Zanpakutō.

"Bare witness to this wicked world. Unleash chaos, Ralael!" Riley roared, causing the blade to change shape, taking on it's gunblade appearance.

Shifting it into gun form, Riley fired a barrage of energy bolts into the horde of ghouls, cutting through them like a knife through air.

This night, the Statute would fall, now it was time to secure their position as saviors.

Riley launched herself into the fray, focusing her senses on tracking down clusters of survivors near and around the advancing enemy. He goal now was to save who she could, cementing the heroism of magicals in this battle.

Within a half hour, the Cysgodol Legion had arrived in force. Every single active member appeared within the city and poured out of Diagon Alley, along with the Aurors. With vampires actively using their abilities in the streets, there was no longer any point in hiding. Itachi unleashed the full might of the Legion, including the aid of Hashirama, Madara, Izuna, and Tobirama.

It didn't take long for the Legion to turn the tide of the battle, especially with the Shikaku and Shikamaru Nara offering their insight and strategic genius.

Legion forces and Aurors quickly spread across the city, aiding civilians and pushing back the large army of ghouls that had been formed during the opening stage of the attack.

The vampires themselves were unready for such retaliation. As was expected, they were unaware of the magical army that Britain had, and thus did not come prepared to face such an elite force. The worst they thought they had to fear was the round table and Hellsing. Their miscalculation would be their undoing as the magicals quickly secured a battle line around the advancing vampire and ghoul army, and held them at bay, while civilians were quickly evacuated.

Those close to outskirts of the city were moved on foot or escorted in their vehicles, while those close to the chaos were either moved to the leaky cauldron and sent into Diagon Alley to avoid the attack, or they were literally carried away by the Legionaries or the aurors.

The biggest problem with dealing with the attackers was their use of ghouls and firearms. The shinobi trained soldiers of the Legion could match the vampire for speed and strength, and with their own firearm training, they were able to handle themselves easily in melee. It was the gunfights that became interesting as not all legionnaires were fast enough to easily dodge bullets. Jonin level ones, could with a bit of effort, but those without had to rely on their speed to avoid ending up in the enemy's crosshairs.

They had all also been informed to not allow the enemy to drink their blood. Riley had indeed tested her ability to bring the dead back to life, on victims of vampire attacks, and she learned that when a vampire drank a person's blood, they were indeed drinking in their soul. If you lost your soul to a vampire, than Riley couldn't bring you back.

At least not without bringing back the vampire that killed you, and then ripping your soul free from his, and that would only truly work if your soul hadn't begun to break down within the vampire.

So needless to say, the Legion was acting with far more caution than usual to avoid permanent death.

**-London, England. August 10th 1999-**

Past midnight now, and the battle raged on. Slowly but surely the Legion was throwing Millennium back towards their landing position, near the center of the city. They had the army of former Nazi soldiers surrounded.

Nearly two hours ago, one of the zeppelins had broken off to launch an attack on Hellsing Headquarters. As of right now, no one knew of the status of the headquarters or Seras Victoria. Daphne had inquired to Alucard, during a moment of silence if he knew about his sireling and how she was doing. He simply smirked in reply and said that she seemed to have the situation well in hand.

Artoria had moved on to join with the Legion and lead an assault alongside Madara and Tobirama into the enemy's battle line, breaking through it.

Daphne meanwhile held back, working on mopping up left over ghouls, and surviving vampires that were hiding out of sight.

Her, Walter, and her wraith made quick work of them, with Walter showing the results of his return to Youth, as he easily cut down swaths of enemies wherever they appeared. He seemed to be enjoying himself, and Daphne quickly understood why he had been named the Angel of Death by those that knew of his abilities.

They were definitely making headway. Daphne's target was to move close to where the largest of the Millennium zeppelins was hovering. Her intention was to board it and have Alucard kill the Major, and end this as soon as possible.

Elsewhere in the city, Riley spun through crowds of ghouls and vampires, cutting them to shreds. Their screams and cries of desperation went unheeded as Riley cut them down.

She came to halt as she felt a familiar holy aura nearby. Slowly she turned her gaze out to a nearby structure where she felt eyes on her.

In a burst of speed she shot through one of the windows, landing in a large office floor, filled to the brim with Iscariot agents. Nearly a hundred of them, clustered within, watching and documenting the carnage outside.

"Hello, boys and girls." Riley greeted viciously as many drew their weapons and leveled them at her.

"Stand down! We're not here to fight." Came the voice of Alexander Anderson. Riley turned her gaze to the man, eyeing him curiously. She had heard about him from Daphne's recent encounters, and a part of her yearned to settle the score for his earliest attack on her wife.

She held herself in check though as he approached, by his side, was another face, Riley recognized but had never met before.

Enrico Maxwell.

"So… you're the vessel of the Tree of Life. I was hoping we'd get the chance to meet." Anderson greeted her.

"Alexander Anderson. Your reputation precedes you. What are you doing here?" Riley demanded, leveling her blade at them.

"We are here to observe the attack and gather information on Hellsing and it's allies. Word has spread about this Cysgodol Legion and we wanted to see it's abilities with out own eyes." Maxwell responded, eyeing her with cool contempt.

"I see. Not here to try and capture me again? I'm surprised, people with your affliction often don't learn their lesson the first time." Riley responded cruelly.

"And what affliction would that be?" Maxwell replied.

"A sense of religious superiority." Riley responded with a smirk, earning enraged glares from the surrounding Vatican agents.

"Oh… do not worry. We will claim the Tree of Life one day. For now though, we are tentative allies. We wish to see Millennium destroyed as much as you do. And considering the destruction that is already been wrought, I'd say the Statute of Secrecy has been reduced to ash. No longer can your cults of witches and devil worshipers hide in the shadows. Even if you win this battle, come the dawn, the world will know of your existence." Maxwell stated, smirking cruelly as he did.

"I hope so. Would be a shame for all these people to die, and something good not come of it. I look forward to the day where I no longer need to hide what I am. You think the world will stand against us? I think you're right. And I'm ready to deal with them, when that time comes." Riley responded, causing Maxwell's smile to fall, and Anderson to grit his teeth at the implication she was making.

"Come at me all you like, boys and girls. I will happily meet you in battle. I live for war, and destruction. If the world seeks to stand against me, then I'll set it on fire, and build a golden kingdom from the ashes." Riley finished, unleashing a burst of her power that sent everyone stumbling back, away from her.

Before they could recover, she was gone.

"I told you, Maxwell… The vessel was not to be underestimated." Anderson noted, pulling himself to his feet.

"Yes, you are right. We'll continue to observe. For now, we bide our time." Maxwell replied, approaching the shattered windows and gazing out over the ruins of London, in his eyes, a burning rage and hatred focused on all that lay before him.

Outside Daphne, Walter, and her wraith entered into a street where a large horde of ghouls were busy devouring their recent kills.

The three approached them, only for a red blur to fall into the crowd of ghouls and cause a fountain of blood to erupt from within.

The three watched as blood and limbs exploded through the air as this red blur moved throughout the crowd, cutting down all one hundred ghouls in less than thirty seconds.

The blur vanished as the last of the ghoul fell, only to reappear as the front of a nearby building erupted in a shower of glass and wood. They saw the blur carry out a figure, what looked to be one of the vampires which was quickly shredded as it was dragged across the pavement.

The corpse of the vampire was tossed past them as the blur came to rest in front of Daphne, kneeling before her.

It took only a moment for Daphne to recognize the face of Seras Victoria. She was different from when last Daphne has seen her. Her outfit was now died red and one of her arms had been transformed into an elongate mass of shadowy red, black, and orange matter. Her demonic presence was almost overwhelming, as there was no restraints on her power, and she had been sired by Alucard, and was thus possessed a strong percentage of the vampire lord's full power. Making her at least as strong as a devil.

"Seras… what happened to you?" Daphne asked, her jaw hanging open in dumbfounded amazement.

"The enemy attacked our headquarters. We managed to kill them all, but Mr. Bernadotte, he is dead ma'am." Seras replied, her voice sounding eerie, almost otherworldly.

"I see… you drank his blood, didn't you?" Daphne asked.

"Yes. I did." She replied, as clapping filled the air.

From the shadows, Alucard emerged, wearing a smile as he approached the group.

"Master!" Seras addressed him, smiling as he approached.

"Oh how much you've grown, my dearest Seras Victoria." Alucard responded with what could only be described as a warm smile.

Seras beamed at him, happy to finally receive acknowledgment from her master.

Walter also smiled at her, as well as Daphne.

"Well now, don't you think it's time to put an end to this?" Alucard inquired, turning his gaze towards Daphne.

"I do. Riley." Daphne responded, causing Riley to appear by her side, stepping out of her shadow.

"What do you need babe?" Riley inquired.

"It's time we ended this." Daphne responded.

"Can do." Riley replied, lifting her gunblade and pointing it towards the smallest of the two zeppelins remaining.

She activated her **Byakugan**, and charged up a shot.

With a focused and condensed blast of magic, she took out the zeppelins generators, causing it to begin falling out of the sky.

She then allowed her blade to return to it's sealed state and she sheathed it and offered her hand to Daphne.

Daphne took it, and in unison, all five of them, rose up into the air. Riley used her magic to levitate them all up to the remaining zeppelin where the major and Schrödinger awaited.

They arrived in one of the halls of the interior where they proceeded to kill everyone that got in their way.

It was as they advanced that a voice came over a loud speaker, addressing them. It carried the same cheer and carefree nature that it had the last time it had spoken to them. The Major addressed them, most likely having spotted them on security cameras.

"Ah… so ze vampire knows how to keep himself hidden? I must say I was not expecting zis. And you are looking quite youthful as well dearest butler. Zis almost seems like a repeat of our last meeting. Well… if I have been outplayed, zen so be it. Come… let us end zis." He addressed them, calling them to his location.

"Let's finish this." Daphne stated, as Riley led them through the interior towards the Major's location.

On their way they were confronted by one of his top enforcers. A pure werewolf, simply referred to as, 'The Captain."

"I'll handle him ma'am. You all go on and finish this." Seras offered.

"Be careful Seras. His powers are vast." Walter warned her, having faced this werewolf before.

"I'll be fine, and thank you." She offered to him, earning a smile in response.

The Captain allowed them to pass, as he and Seras fought.

The remaining four quickly made it to the main headquarters of Millennium, where the Major sat alone behind a large glass barrier.

"Hello." He greeted them, as Alucard drew his twin pistols.

"And goodbye." Alucard replied, firing bullets from his silver gun at the glass barrier. It cracked from the impacts but showed no signs of breaking, while the Major smiled at them.

Alucard them fired a round from his black gun, which caused the barrier to begin shattering.

"Oh how I have waited for this for a long time. Come, my count. Let us have an end to this." The Major responded as Alucard passed through the broken remains of the barrier.

The Major drew a pistol and fired several shots at Alucard all of them missing, despite the fact that the vampire wasn't dodging them. Alucard put his black gun to the Major's head, who never lost his smile, and he pulled the trigger.

To everyone's surprise, no blood came out, nor was there any brains or bones. Black oil, and mechanical pieces erupted from the 'man's' head, pouring out across the room as he fell back, never losing his smile.

Alucard stood in confusion for several long moments, not really comprehending what had just happened, while Daphne and the others approached.

"He was a robot..." Daphne muttered, dumbfounded.

"I think, technically, he was a cyborg." Riley offered, causing her wife to shoot her a death glare.

"I'm gonna just go and kill the rest of them." Riley offered, as an explosion rocked the zeppelin. "And maybe we should leave."

"Wasn't expecting that. But I guess we can't all get what we want." Alucard muttered as he placed his guns away and turned towards Daphne.

"Let us leave this place, and be done with it." Daphne ordered, earning a nod from Alucard, and Walter.

"Before we go, there is something I need to collect first." Riley replied as she turned over to a shadow in the room, where Schrödinger sat waiting. "It's time to go now."

"Yes mozer!" The boy replied cheerfully, earning confusion from Daphne, Walter, and Alucard.

"What did that cat-boy just call you?" Walter inquired, as Daphne quickly realized what was going on. This boy was one of Riley's kids, in her mind, that explained how Riley knew about this whole situation. Her son had been the spy, on the inside that had fed her information. It all made sense now.

"This is my son, Schrödinger. He's going to show us to the Doctor's laboratory real quick so we can capture him and give him to Ibiki. And also, there is something here I think you may want, Alucard." Riley informed the vampire lord, earning a curious look from him.

The group quickly made it through the zeppelin as it slowly lost power. They arrived at the laboratory where the last of Millennium was busy gathering his research. This vampire was named 'The Doctor'. In his possession was the corpse of Mina Harker, the only vampire that Alucard had sired, that he had in-turn allowed to drink his blood.

It was from her corpse that this vampire army had been made, and it was quickly recovered and the The Doctor taken into custody.

Seras rejoined them soon after, having killed the Werewolf, with help of her newest familiar. The spirit of Pip Bernadotte, who had given his blood willingly to Seras, no lived within her and could aid her in battle as a willing familiar.

From there, the five escaped the zeppelin as it crashed into an abandoned part of the city.

Riley quickly rejoined the battle, using shadow clones to finish off the remainder of the enemy, quite quickly.

By dawn's light, it was done. The battle for London was over.

Riley sat amongst the ashes, alongside, Daphne, Artoria, and Itachi.

"So… this nightmare has finally ended." Itachi mused.

"And a new one takes its place." Artoria muttered.

"We'll never be able to spin this. Tens of thousands died in the attack. Cameras broadcast the event all over the country and even in the rest of Europe. We won, but the Statute has no doubt fallen. People saw us use magic, they saw the vampires. We have to decide where we go from here. We can bottle up, hide, pretend we don't exist. Or we can step out into the light." Riley stated, staring out over the city.

"The Ministry will be calling for a meeting with the Wizengamot. We should finish what we can and get ready, I have a feeling that conversation is gonna be a long and brutal one." Artoria said to her companions, earning nods in unison from them.

While Riley kept her face and emotions in check, on the inside, she smirked.

Soon they would meet with the magical lords and ladies of Britain and there, Riley would play her hand. She would unite the magicals under the rule of Artoria, as their new monarch, and from there, they would bring the chaos that had just been unleashed upon Britain to heel. Today marked the rise of a new power, one that would surge ahead to stand atop the peak of the world.

The Age of Man was over, the Age of Magic had now begun.

**-To Be Continued-**

_**Alrighty, everyone's thoughts and feelings in regards to the battle will be seen next chapter, and now we can finally get to the part where we see the worlds reaction to magic, and to Riley.**_

_**Pip and his connection to magic will play a larger role going forward, so it wasn't just a one off, in case anyone was wondering why I added that.**_

_**Not everything was the same as it was in Hellsing, I kept Iscariot around, because I didn't want to lose them yet, and I think they'd make good villains going forward. Hope everyone is staying safe during the craziness out there, and I hope you all have a good day. Until next time, Ja Ne!**_


	18. 18: Magic's Rise

_**Alright everybody shits about to hit the fan. I hope everyone is enjoying themselves, and I hope you all are keeping safe and keeping your sanity in these crazy times. I know I'm struggling with boredom, and if you are too, I hope this chapter may help alleviate it for a short while. Anyway, here we go, if you have any questions, please ask, I always try to answer whenever I see them. **_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

Chapter 18: Magic's Rise.

**-Wizengamot Chambers, London. August 10th 1999-**

Panic. That was the general mood of the chamber as the various lords and ladies tried to discuss the events of the recent attack.

A major difficulty occurred in their attempts when someone let slip that the ICW was calling, demanding answers for what happened. Now everyone was panicking as it quickly dawned on the masses that the secret was out. All of London now knew that magic existed, and while it wouldn't be confirmed for several hours, many worried that awareness of the events spread far beyond the borders of England.

The Statute of Secrecy had broken. Everyone knew it, everyone knew the jig was up. Not only was the truth now out there for everyone to see, but Britain was a disaster zone. Millennium had launched a simultaneous attack alongside countless hidden infiltrators all over the nation. These infiltrators sabotaged and attacked military bases, assassinated government officials, and generally caused all sorts of havoc to prevent any aid from rallying to come to London's defense.

Word had reached them already from the Legion that the royal family had been killed, butchered in the moments leading up to the attack, when communications had been cut.

It quickly dawned on the Wizengamot as more information poured in that the country was now in a state of total collapse, and they were quite possibly the only higher form of government left in the nation.

Calls immediately went out for Riley to revive those that had been killed, to which she sorrowfully explained to those gathered that her revival technique requires that a person's soul be in limbo between the earth and the afterlife. She couldn't revive people once they'd passed on, and she also couldn't revive those that had, had their souls stolen. Daphne explained to them all that having a vampire drink your blood entirely, meant that it also claimed your soul.

Riley simply could not revive them. Some even asked if it was possibly to revive the killers responsible and then somehow remove the souls from them. Riley offered that while that was an interesting possibility, such a thing would only really work if the soul was being held for some reason within the entity. For example, if a soul were to be locked away in the vampire's body, then yes, it was possible to revive said vampire and use soul magic to remove said soul and then revive it. However, the Millennium vampires were not overly skilled in magic, and most likely had no way of controlling what happened to the souls they devoured. With absolute certainty, Riley expressed her belief that those that lost their souls to the vampires, had resulted in those souls being consumed. Those people weren't just dead, they were gone. Completely gone.

Her explanation and the revelation that many of the fallen weren't even at rest, deeply soured everyone's mood and brought an almost overwhelming aura of sorrow and despair into the room.

It was well into the afternoon when word reached the chamber that the city had been fully secured and the Legion, Aurors, local military, and police were now keeping the peace and keeping things orderly.

Itachi was busily working with the Round Table to restore some semblance of order to the city. Luckily many members of the Round Table were military men, with strong ties to various sectors of the English armed forces.

This meant that while the rank and file soldiers were naturally uncertain when dealing with the aurors and legionnaires, they were kept moving by those above them. The cogs were turning, the biggest issue though was the uncertainty. Other than keeping the peace, what was going to happen next?

"We need to reestablish order. The muggle government is in shambles, martial law is in effect, but even now we're receiving word of chaos in the streets, all over the country. People need answers, people need direction, they need a way to go." Neville Longbottom implored his surrounding lords and ladies.

"We're all open to suggestions, Lord Longbottom. I'm certain we'd all love some direction right about now." Came the reply from the lord of a light house.

"The Ministry should work with the Round Table to reestablish parliament, the muggles need leadership, and they need it quickly. The sooner we can repair the damage, the sooner we can turn our focus to the hell storm this attack has unleashed on magicals all over the world." Came a suggestion from Theodore Nott, which earned many nods of agreement.

"But will they accept such a thing, our will dictating their governing body?" Draco inquired aloud.

"Probably not. The people are in desperate need of answers, and they're scared. Panic is gripping the entire populace and until we get a handle on things, this panic will continue to get worse." Riley voiced, drawing many a gaze to her, as she remained eerily quiet throughout the day, simply listening in on the meeting and taking in everyone's position and opinion.

"So what then? Do we try to have the Ministry impose order?" Lucius inquired, gazing at Riley, and then down to Thomas, curious to hear how both would react.

"The people are scared. And rightly so. They've seen a horrible demonstration of some of the darkest forms of magic. We need to give them a showing, prove who we are by our actions. That will benefit us far more in the long run. We need to face facts, the secret is out. The Statute has fallen. We have no reason not to use our full power to restore order, and ensure safety and security to those who are in desperate need of it. As for who should lead it… that is a difficult question. We worry for the fates and feelings of our muggle counterparts who suffered far more grievously from this attack than we did. We have a difficult decision to make. If we work to restore parliament, than we place our abilities and our lives into the hands of muggles. We could try installing some of our own into parliament, that may settle some issues. The difficulty is that without proper elections, anything we establish will appear as biased and will open the door for mistrust and fear." Riley responded, earning several nods, thoughtful looks, and curious stares as people pondered her words.

"What other option is there? The Ministry would appear heavily biased." A light lord noted, earning a nod from Riley.

"That's true. Our only way of appearing unbiased and allowing the muggles free reign is to allow military law to reign for however many months in takes to rebuild parliament and get the country back in order. But we all know we can't do that. We don't have months, we don't even have days. I know it's still settling in for everyone, but allow me to reiterate, that the secret is out. Within a week, the whole world will know that magic exists, and that's a very optimistic estimate. I'm almost certain that within a week, we will need to be able to answer the world's questions. And to do that, we need leadership." Riley agreed with the man, pressing onto everyone that no matter how they did this, they were going to look like they were imposing their will or stacking the deck in their favor. The only way to make it not look like that was to step away, but that opened an entirely new can of worms, and was basically off the table.

"So what do we do then, my lady? Surely you have an idea, a suggestion. Because so far we all agree that we cannot simply wait for this problem to fix itself. So what then? What would you do, if you could decide?" The same lord inquired.

Riley was silent for a moment as she turned thoughtful, her eyes slowly found their way to Daphne's who stared back and offered a the slightest of nods, showing that she was ready for what came next.

"Aside from doing nothing, there's no way to do this without us appearing like we're in control. I know how this will sound to many of you, and given what has happened, I hate that is has to be now that we must discuss such things, but we have to consider our future, not just the muggles." Riley began, moving from her seat to the center of the chamber, drawing everyone's gaze to her, as murmurs began to fill the crowd.

"We are magical lords and ladies. We are just as important as the muggles. Our world, has been forever changed by this attack. We've lost our anonymity. We've lost the ability to hide. We must now face the scrutiny of the greater portion of the human race. You all thought the challenge to our beliefs was a pain from muggleborn, now we will be judged by the entirety of humanity. Were the choice left in my hands, I wouldn't put our fate into the hands of muggles who know nothing about us, about magic, or our ways." Riley continued on, drawing louder murmurs from the crowd as many, especially those of the dark and neutral sides voiced their agreement.

Tom and Lucius watched her closely, with Tom offering a small smile, signifying his agreement with her sentiment. High above the chamber, Artoria stared down at Riley, her gaze calculating as she took in Riley's words.

"I believe the best way to show the world who we are, is to do what we all know must be done. The muggle government has been destroyed, the Royal family, is gone, even the muggle military has been hit hard by this attack. We stand as a pillar of strength, we should use that strength to uplift the people. We shouldn't just stand back and let the world silently judge us. We should step forward and use our gifts, use our magic to repair our nation and help uplift it to staggering new heights. At this moment, we can choose to set the example for the world of what magicals are. We can show them our strength, our valor, our power, and use it to heal them, and repair the damage that was done to us. I think, for our people's sake, it is our duty to unite, and with our combined power, we can show them, and the world, that we do not buckle in the face of adversity, nor do we cower in the face of a challenge. We must unite under a common goal, and use our powers to rebuild our nation." Riley continued, allowing passion and drive to slip into her words.

Many around her nodded in agreement, it helped her play that many within the crowd were her friends from school, many of whom had risen to their lordships since the end of school. There was also her allies in the dark, and her family like Sirius.

Cheers of agreement quickly built up in the crowd, as many began to voice similar sentiments, in regards to their future.

"Than who will we unite under? The Minister?" Thomas inquired, silencing the cheers.

"I do believe he's up to the task. Lucius Malfoy led us through a time of war, and I see him leading our magical world through this crisis as well. He is a good man, and an excellent choice, were it not for the one person who eclipses all others present in their leadership qualities, I would choose him in a heartbeat." Riley responded, earning curious whispers from the crowd.

Some even began to suspect, and quickly voiced those suspicions.

"Who amongst us could handle such an endeavor if not the Minister? You?" Came an inquiry from Neville, giving voice to where many thought this was heading. Given Riley's status as a hero, and the most powerful magical around, on top of her many lordships, such a power play could be quite successful. She had a strong voting block in her friendships and allies, and many already saw her as a great leader.

"I may lead when it is necessary of me, but I have no desire for such things, nor would I press such a claim when a far better option is present." Riley responded, earning surprise from everyone.

Many of her friends shared curious looks as they thought they knew where this was heading.

Lucius was quick to share a glance with his son, who was eyeing Riley with a smirk, suspecting something far more grand from his best friend. Lucius subtly shifted his gaze to meet with the Dark Lord's. Voldemort was smiling now and nodded to the high seats above.

Seeing that, it quickly clicked in Lucius' mind as he gazed up into the high seats where Artoria Pendragon sat. He began to understand Riley's endgame. She intended for King Arthur to return. A smirk appeared on his face as he waited for the question to be asked. He knew it was coming, and was curious to see how Riley would address Artoria's true identity, a secret known only to a few. To most she was just a descendant of the Pendragon line.

"And who is this better option, lady Riley?" Draco inquired, keeping the smirk off his face.

Riley met his gaze, earning a subtle nod from her best friend to show that he knew where this was going, and was with her.

"I swear on my life and magic, that what I tell you next is the truth..." Riley began, earning immense focus from the surrounding lords and ladies.

Riley was silent for a moment as she turned in place, passing her gaze over the entire crowd.

"The Descendant of the Pendragon line is a fabrication. King Arthur had no children. The woman sitting up there right now, is the legend we know as King Arthur Pendragon. The King of Knights." Riley proclaimed earning stunned silence from the crowd.

Daphne watched as Riley unveiled that secret to the crowd. She was happy her position was opposite of where Artoria sat above, so that she could see the ancient king's look of surprise.

"Only a few were aware of the truth. King Arthur was born as a girl, raised as a knight, and hid her gender, so that she could do what was needed. She was born in a time where women were seen as less than men, and so she kept the truth to herself, and became the legend we know of as King Arthur. That woman sitting above us, is the Once and Future King. Her legend speaks that one day King Arthur would return to us, her life was spared by the Grim Reaper who brought her to us in this time. I believe in her destiny, and I believe that in this time of crisis, we need someone who has ruled magicals and muggles alike. Someone who united us during a time of strife and led us through the darkness. I believe with all my heart that the one meant to lead us, is the King we hold so close to heart. To the Pendragon line that helped forge our magical world. To the woman who led us then, and fought alongside us now to defend our nation. I've seen her valor, her skill, and her leadership abilities with my own two eyes. There is no one I'd rather follow into this crisis." Riley explained to them all, as she slowly lifted her gaze to meet with Artoria's.

Artoria stared back in dumbstruck disbelief.

She was stunned, confused, unsteady. For a moment she felt lost as a familiar weight descended upon her. Her eyes glazed over as her past as king flashed in her mind. Her many failures, her many shortcomings. Everything that she had done that caused her kingdom to collapse. A part of her wanted to deny it, to pass it on to another. But as her eyes broke from Riley's and found their way across the room meeting with the gazes of all those looking up at her, she found her resolve quickly reforming.

In their eyes she saw a desperate hope. A hope that Riley's words were the absolute truth. That Artoria truly was the legendary king. A hope that there would be a guiding light in these dark times.

Artoria rose to her feet, her gaze hardening as she began to descend towards the center of the chamber, eventually arriving at Riley's side.

She took in the looks of the surrounding lords and ladies. The reverence she had received at the notion of simply being descended from King Arthur was nothing compared to now.

Despite her short stature, Artoria seemed to tower above all those surrounding her. Her posture, her aura, her presence, all made her seem larger than life.

"I swear upon my honor, my magic, and my life, that what I say is true. I am King Arthur Pendragon." Artoria declared, earning a smile from Riley.

"Artoria fought by my side during the battle of Dover. She fought with us during the Fourth Great Ninja War. Through her actions I've seen a glimpse of the legend. I can think of no one better to lead us during this time of crisis, than someone who has done it before." Riley offered to the crowd.

"I can vouch for her valor, and skill in battle, and she has shown a steady hand and great wisdom in her role as a leader. I agree with Lady Riley. In this time of crisis we must unite under a strong leader. I believe we must show the world what we are capable of. We must band together, magicals and muggles alike." Thomas stated as he rose to his feet, earning cheers of agreement.

"Lady Artoria, will you lead us in this time of great turmoil. Will you guide us to the best of your ability?" Lucius asked of her.

Artoria was silent for a moment, as her gaze became heavily nostalgic. After several long moments Excalibur appeared in her hand and she removed **Invisible Air**. The shining blade of Promised Victory earned awe from the crowd. Artoria turned her focus towards the blade before holding it up, raised towards the heavens.

"Upon this sword I swear, I will guide my people to the best of my abilities. Upon my honor as a knight, I swear I will defend my people. Upon my name, I swear I will uphold the will of my subjects. By my life, I will protect my home, to my dying breath. I, Artoria Pendragon, do so swear. Let my life serve as an example to others, and by my service to this great land, let it rise to glory once more!" Cheers erupted from the crowd as the surrounding lords and ladies began to chant Artoria's name.

Riley stood by her side, beaming at her friend and lover.

The cheering continued for several long moments when suddenly, a magical outpouring, rippled through the chamber.

Surprise echoed through the crowd as many tensed, ancient runes, and wards activating, as magic caused the room to shake. At the center of the chamber, the ground began to crack. Riley and Artoria quickly backed away as the stone floor erupt and gleaming light suddenly poured through the ceiling.

Smoke and dust obscured the center of the room before settling. There, in the center of the chamber, sat a blackened stone, and emerging from the stone, a sword of utter magnificence.

Mutterings of awe passed out from the crowd as all those present gazed upon the stone and the blade in dumbfounded amazement.

"**What in the fresh hell was that?"** Kurama muttered.

"_I felt a powerful rush of magic, like some sort of ancient summoning ritual. The runes on the walls… it was almost like someone set this here a long time ago. Like they were waiting for this moment."_ Riley responded.

"**Well they do call her the 'Once and Future King'. Perhaps someone did place this here, like they had a prophetic vision of this."** Kurama noted, sensing that Artoria's acceptance to the position of leader, was what triggered this. Something that Riley fully agreed with.

"That's not possible." Artoria muttered in disbelief, slowly approaching the stone, her eyes wide, and filled with awe and nostalgia.

"You recognize this blade?" Riley inquired to her.

"It's Caliburn. The Sword of Choosing." Artoria replied, as she continued to move closer to the stone.

"The sword you pulled from the stone?" Riley asked, earning a nod from Artoria.

"A sword of it's like would never exist again. That's what Merlin had told me when it broke in battle." Artoria whispered as she reached out for it, almost mesmerized. Suddenly though, she pulled back, as she realized that something was wrong.

"This is not Caliburn." Artoria stated, blinking away her awe, and turning more curious.

"It's not?" Riley asked.

"It looks the same. It's close. Very close. Almost exact. But this isn't the same sword I wielded so long ago. This is…" Artoria began to explain only for her eyes to fall to the black stone the sword was sheathed in.

Inscribed into the stone, in old welsh, were the words "_Let this sword rest in magic's heart until the Once and Future King arises to claim it. Let the one who pulleth this sword be forever known as the rightwise ruler of all England."_

"How is this possible?" Artoria mumbled to herself as Riley stepped up next to her, and gazed at the inscription.

"I sense powerful magics tied into that stone, and the inscription. There are spells intertwined here, keeping the sword in place. I sense demonic energy within, like a minor demon or even a half-demon of some sort. The sword itself is holy, yet within the black stone, I see dark magics." Riley stated, eyeing the stone curiously.

"Merlin!" Artoria stated, earning Riley's attention.

"Merlin? You're saying Merlin did this?" Riley inquired, as others in the room listened in or even approached, curious to see what would happen next.

"This sword… it's almost exactly like Caliburn. I can't truly explain why I know that it isn't Caliburn, but I do. And yet… I feel as if this test was placed before me." Artoria responded as she took in a breath and once more reached out for the blade.

As she did, an echo played in her mind.

She remembered his words, Merlin had said to her, from the moment she pulled the sword, she would no longer be human, but something more.

He had told her that she would lose everything, and had even shown her a vision of her future and even her death. The smiling faces she had seen along the way were what convinced her to push forward, even if she would suffer for it.

His words echoed clearly in her mind, that to take on this role once more, she would lose everything.

"_This is the moment. I can choose to walk away. Guide my people to the best of my abilities but allow them the freedom to appoint a true monarch. I can still live a pleasant life." _Artoria paused as her gaze became conflicted. For a moment she hesitated before turning her eyes to meet with Riley's gaze.

Riley offered her a smile and nod.

"Go ahead, I believe in you Artoria. I know you wont fail. I'll be there by your side, always." Riley said to her.

A gentle smile fell upon Artoria's features as she turned her gaze back onto the sword.

"_I am not who I once was. I will not carry this burden alone. If there is one thing Riley has taught me more than anything else, it is that we choose our own fates. It's never to late to make things right."_ With that, Artoria reached out wrapping her hand around the hilt of the blade.

A pulse of magic echoed out from the stone as Artoria began to draw out the sword.

Gasps of awe filled the crowd as a golden light filled the room and grew in intensity as the blade was drawn.

A flash of golden magic filled the air as the blade slipped free from it's stony sheath. Artoria held it aloft, gazing upon the blade with reverence.

She stared at it for several long moments before lowering it to her side. In one hand she held Excalibur and in the other, this sword that was the mirror image of Caliburn. One a blade of war, the other a symbol of authority. It almost felt like fate, for the two swords to be united once more, when Britain once again required a monarch.

A few moments of quiet reverence were felt before Artoria raised her gaze to the surrounding Lords and Ladies.

"From this moment, I put forth my claim as your Monarch." Artoria declared.

"We've seen something quite amazing here today, and I'm certain we aren't finished yet. Let us put it to a vote then and make it official. All those in favor of a reinstatement of a magical monarchy, say aye." Lucius instructed.

A chorus of cheers roared out from the crowd. Those that followed Riley, were quick to fall in line, those the followed the dark, marched in lock-step behind Thomas, the Light were more than eager to side with King Arthur of all people, and the Neutrals were generally of similar mind. By the end of the count, they were able to mark this moment as one of only seven times in the Wizengamot's history, where the body had voted unanimously on something.

"And now, we vote on Artoria Pendragon's declaration. Who here will declare for her?" Lucius called out.

Again, a chorus of affirmations flooded the chamber, Riley's chief amongst them.

"I do not believe we needn't waste time with another count." Lucius noted, as this collection of cheers was even louder than the last. "Than by my authority as Minister of Magic, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, I Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, hereby name you, Artoria Pendragon, Ruler and Sovereign of Magical Britain. Long may she reign!"

"Long may she reign!" A chorus went out from the crowd, words echoed by Riley as many offered their new ruler bows of subservience.

"Now, what shall our first order of business be your grace?" Lucius inquired.

Artoria was silent for a moment as she contemplated that. She ran his question through her mind and formulated her response, knowing that now was the time for action.

Silently, she wrapped Excalibur back in **Invisible Air**, and placed in on her hip. By the time she was done with that, Riley was already handing her a wooden scabbard, made from wood style, so she'd have a place to store her newest sword.

Artoria offered Riley a nod of thanks as she sheathed the Caliburn look-alike. She met Riley's gaze for a few moments before smirking.

"**Uh-oh."** Kurama hummed.

"_That was a deviant little smirk. Kinda cute too. I've never seen Artoria rueful though. This might not bode well."_ Riley thought to herself, as Artoria turned her attention back on the crowd, allowing her smirk to fade, and her gaze to harden into a look of sheer focus.

"Minister Malfoy, the resources of the Ministry will need to be fully deployed to aid our people across the country. The muggles may not have sworn fealty to me yet, but they are still our countrymen and we must do everything in our power to aid them in recovering from this vicious attack." Artoria began, earning a nod from Lucius in reply.

"Furthermore I will require meetings set up with the various heads of the Ministry and we will need to establish a time for me to meet with the leaders of the various magical peoples of Britain. Things such as ceremony, and coronations can wait until after the country has begun healing. We will focus on bridging the gaps between magical and muggle people, and we will not forget those that lost their lives due to Millennium. My predecessors will be held in full honor for their commitment to peace and unity." Artoria continued.

"If I may, your grace, how shall we address our new monarch. I know you were a king once, though things are far different now, more accepting of women as rulers?" Lucius asked of her.

"I was raised a knight, and trained to be a king. Ruling as a King is how I've ruled once before, and it is how I will rule now. With that being said, you are correct. Times have changed. My gender no longer limits my ability to rule. I will accept the title of Queen Regnant, as that is what would be most proper, and easiest to understand in this day and age." Artoria answered, earning a nod from the minister and a smile from Riley.

"And finally, here today I will solidify my claim by naming Lady Riley, of the Houses Uchiwa, Uzumaki, Senju, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Black, as my betrothed." Artoria added, earning cheers from the crowd.

"What?" Riley replied, startled by the sudden proclamation.

"**Haha! Clever little vixen that one! You got her into this, now she's making sure you get dragged into it with her."** Kurama cackled with laughter.

"_Shit!"_ Riley thought to herself as a smile spread across her face. That was not something she had thought about with this whole plan. Making Artoria the new monarch ensured the rise of a magical nation without Riley having to be the one to helm it. Of course she had overlooked the fact that as Artoria's lover, it would only be reasonable for her to name Riley as her betrothed and at the very least, have her as a consort. Riley hoped it stayed at that, but given Artoria's earlier smirk, Riley suspected her newly betrothed had the intention of dragging Riley as high as she possibly could, and given her hero status and her number of lordships within Britain, the case could easily be made for her getting quite an illustrious title.

Riley would have to sit down and talk with Artoria about this later. While she was more than willing to stand by Artoria through all of this, she was hoping to avoid adding the soul wrenching boredom of office work to her life.

Cheers continued to fill the room, loudest of which came from Riley's friends, along with Sirius. A quick glance at Daphne, revealed with Hellsing Lord to be smirking down at her, sensing Riley's discomfort at being put on the spot like this.

Riley turned her attention to Artoria and offered her a chuckle.

Artoria smiled back at her, happy to have gotten the words out without blushing. Now it was out there, she wanted Riley as her wife.

Riley took her hand, and the two faced the crowd, ready to face the uncertain future together.

-**August 11th 1999-**

The world was changing.

Upon Artoria's command, magicals crawled out of the wood-works to offer their services to the new regime.

The Legion, DMLE, and the Ministry in it's entirety, began to actively offer their support and assistance to those in need within the community.

They helped to clean up the streets, removing wreckage and bodies. They offered medical aid, using magic to heal injuries. And they even used their magic to begin repairing the damage to the city.

The reactions from the populace was dumbstruck amazement. Many could only sit and watch in awe as magicals went about their business using magic to levitate fallen debris out of the way, or heal rather major injuries with simple wand motions. Hashirama spent his time using his wood style to create shelters for those that had lost their homes in the fighting and to heal them.

People were naturally afraid of course and the reaction of the populace to the death of their leaders was a national heartbreak, but many quickly became focused on the actions of these magicals who were spending all hours of the day repairing the damage done.

The first meeting Artoria had was with the Chief of the Goblin Nation. One look at the Caliburn like sword, and the Goblins dropped to their knees and swore absolute fealty to the ruler of England. They were of course one of the few races that truly recognized the authority that the sword radiated and understood its meaning. Learning that Artoria was actually the one once known as King Arthur, simply furthered their beliefs.

The Goblins were loyal to themselves, but they still held the oaths their people had made fifteen hundred years prior to Artoria, and quickly fell in line to honor those oaths. That wasn't to say that they had any love for the ministry, that would probably never change, but they were willing to follow Artoria.

The Round Table spent many hours in discussion from the moment they heard what the magicals were planning some members slipped into argument, calling this some sort of power play, as it appeared to them that the magicals were trying to take over during this chaotic event.

Artoria took in their claims, and in response, asked them if they were finished serving Britain. Because the Round Table was meant to serve and protect the nation. Artoria intended to continue that role, no matter if she was a Queen, a Knight, or just a woman. She would serve the nation to the best of her abilities. She didn't ask that her fellow knights put their trust in her on a whim, if they needed proof of her genuine desire to help her people, than she would provide it to them, through her actions.

This tempered some of the more vocal detractors and they were silenced completely when word reached them that Artoria intended to marry Riley. Regardless of Riley's status as a hero, at the end of the day as far as people knew, she was the Jinchuriki for the two most powerful demons in the world, the Nine and Ten Tails.

Both entities could level countries with complete ease, and having just one of them made any controlling faction a superpower. Having both, actually put Britain at a level of power it hadn't been at in years. Not since the British Empire dominated most of the known world, had the country commanded such power, and now with the Statute broken, Riley was a literal deterrent, on the level of the United States or Russian nuclear arsenals.

Many of the more cunning members of the Round Table, quickly came to realize that with the Statute broken, a Jinchuriki would now be an official weapon of mass destruction. And Riley had the two strongest, and she was going to marry the One and Two Tails Jinchuriki. And add onto that, that Fū, the revived Seven Tails Jinchuriki was a ward of the English State, and for all intents and purposes, a member of the Legion, even though she was technically just under their protection at the moment, she was still free to join at any time, if she wanted to.

That meant that Britain had an alliance with the One Tails, Two Tails, and Eight Tails. Custody of the Seven Tails, and it's own Jinchuriki, in the form of the Nine and Ten Tails.

Six of the Ten Tailed Beasts were tied to Britain right now, and as far as anyone knew the remaining Tailed Beasts were roaming freely in the Elemental Nations, not under anyone's control. Meaning all of the Jinchuriki in the world, were either tied to England, or allied with it.

That was a level of power the muggles had yet to reach, and many within the Round Table could see that. Soon, many fell into line behind Artoria, and began to use their contacts and subordinates within the English Military and what was left of the English government to begin rallying support for the magical monarch.

People were naturally confused, uncertain, and even unwilling to just side with this unknown.

Anarchy was a possible threat that could overtake the country without a rapid response, and the Knight's of the Round Table quickly fell into tasks aimed at quelling chaos.

-**August 12****th**** 1999-**

Magic is real.

A headline seen around the world. With no other choice, the ICW began working with it's UN counterpart to reveal the existence of the magical world. Their intention was to reveal things in the least shocking, and most grounded way possible.

Interviews were set up for major media outlets to meet with experts from both the muggle governments and the magical ones.

The Daily Prophet, and the Quibbler were both having an absolute field day with everything that was going on. While the Daily Prophet was busy trying to get an interview with the Minister, with Riley, and with Artoria, Luna on behalf of the Quibbler, quietly interviewed those of her friends that were there. And instead of annoying the two busy-bodies with a sit down interview, Luna simply asked for a moment of their time to ask a few questions, when she got the opportunity. Riley and Artoria were both willing to spare that, especially for Luna.

Slowly but surely, people were becoming less guarded as more information reached them. A society that was basically alien to them. A society of magicals, of witches, and wizards. And yet, they were still their countrymen.

**-London-**

"Does it hurt anymore?" Hashirama inquired, as he finished healing a man's arm.

The man flexed his hand a bit and moved his arm. After a moment he let out a chuckle of disbelief. "It's really healed. I thought it was broken."

"Broken bones can be easily mended with magic. You should let others know as well, if they're suffering similar injuries. The hospitals are quite packed at the moment, it'd be easier on them if they just came here." Hashirama offered to the man.

"Right. I'll be sure to do that." The man replied.

Hashirama smiled at that and turned to search out someone else in need of help.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" The man inquired.

"Of course." Hashirama replied turning back to him.

"What do you get out of this? I mean you're just helping everyone for free?" He asked.

"Helping one's countrymen should be it's own reward. But in truth, I simply don't enjoy when others are forced to suffer. If I can do something to alleviate that suffering, even if just a bit, then I will. It makes me feel better, knowing that I've done what I can to help others who need it. I truly believe there is a natural generosity in the human spirit. A willingness to help others, in their time of need." Hashirama explained, offering the man another smile in the process.

In response the man could only nod slowly and offer his thanks.

Elsewhere in the city, Neji Hyuuga and Choji Akimichi stood with some rescue workers, moving from ruined building to ruined building, searched for anyone that may still be trapped inside some of the damaged structures.

"There's someone alive beneath here." Neji noted, staring at a pile of rubble that didn't even look like a building anymore.

"How can you be so sure?" Came an inquiry from firefighter.

"My eyes allow me to see through solid material." Neji responded, gesturing to the veins bulging around his eyes, which gave off a piercing intensity despite the fact that he almost appeared to be blind due to the coloring.

"Well, let's get to it. Where are they exactly?" Choji inquired as he cracked his knuckles.

Neji began to explain where the person was as Choji activated his clan's **Expansion Jutsu**. Increasing his size to nearly twenty feet tall.

His sudden increase in size earned dumbstruck looks from the surrounding firefighters.

With Neji's guidance, Choji quickly picked through the debris, easily shifting and lifting chucks aside to clear a path towards where someone lay, wedged between a piece of furniture and a wall. This person wasn't conscious but seemed relatively unharmed, aside from the dehydration.

The firefighters quickly carried the man out from the wreckage and got him onto a gurney. They cheered for Choji and Neji as Choji returned to normal size. Both young men tried to hide their embarrassment, as they felt they were only doing what was right in helping out.

Similar cases occurred around the city as magicals did what they could to help out those in need. Slowly but surely, London was pulling itself together.

Later on that night, Riley, Artoria, and Daphne sat quietly in Daphne's office at the Hellsing manor. The Hellsing headquarters was in the midst of being repaired after the attack by Millennium.

"It'll start with the news agencies. We'll need to give interviews, figure out what we're going to say." Daphne expressed after a moment of silence.

"I understand the necessity of getting information out there, but now is not the time for such distractions." Artoria responded.

"I know it may not seem as important, but in this day and age, with a fully educated populace, getting the facts to them, is just as important as anything else. We can't wait for weeks to let them hear our side of things." Daphne argued in reply.

"She's right. We need to get our story out there. We need to find someone who can answer their questions while we keep working." Riley agreed.

"Did you have someone in mind? It must be someone we can trust to handle this without our micromanaging. We have far more to focus on." Artoria inquired.

"This person is gonna be put through the gauntlet. Reporters are vicious. We need someone who'll remain cool under pressure, and focused through it all. Someone who's close to the action, but can take the time to field their questions, and formulate the proper responses." Daphne noted.

There was silence for several long moments before Riley smirked, knowing full well who'd be the perfect fit, to handle this while everyone else focused on repairing the country.

-**London, England. August 18****th**** 1999-**

Three panelists, sat waiting for the news anchor to pivot to them. One was a representative from the mayor's office in London named Natalie, one was a member of the British armed forces named David, and the final person was Draco Malfoy, son of the Minister of Magic, and head of House Malfoy.

The three were about to be brought on to discuss recent events within England, including the Attack on London, the Fall of the Statute of Secrecy, Magical Britain, and all sorts of things like that. This was anticipated to be one of the most viewed interviews in the nation's history.

Draco sat calmly, and with a relaxed demeanor as the news anchor Oliver Davies, introduced the three of them, and began the segment.

For the first few minutes he discussed with Natalie and then David about their positions and how they viewed events. Draco kept quiet throughout these long minutes, allowing them to hypothesize and speculate as he waited to be addressed. Despite the three of them supposedly being brought in to discuss this together, Draco could read behind the lines, and knew that David and Natalie were both present to assist in questioning the magical representative.

"Well I think what we're all dying to know is what happened here, less than a week ago? We understand that a violent organization, has been responsible for the series of brutal attacks that have occurred over the last few months, and we understand that they may have had political affiliations with the Nazi political party. What we're missing is finer details, and most of what we've received is just speculation. I would like to direct this question to Draco Malfoy, son the British Minister of Magic, could you start out by telling the viewing audience your qualifications for coming here?" Oliver began.

"Well as you noted my father is the Minister of Magic, he runs the Ministry, the magical organization that helps govern Magical Britain. Magical Britain in-and-of itself, is controlled by two primary organizations, the Ministry, and the Wizengamot. The former is more of an executive body that handles the day-to-day running of magical society, while the Wizengamot is a council of lords that acts as our legislative and judicial branch, devising laws and overseeing our courts. My father is not only the Minister of Magic, but is also Chief Warlock, the head of the Wizengamot who handles guiding proceedings and the general daily schedule of the voting body. I myself am a member of the Wizengamot, taking my family's house seat after I came of age. My family are prominent business owners, and very recently I served within Britain's magical military and fought in the Fourth Great Shinobi World War, and in the battle for London." Draco calmly explained to the news anchor and his fellow panelists. All three of them hung on his every word and even showed visible surprise when he mentioned a magical world war.

"If I may, I know this might be off topic just a bit, but this Fourth Great Shinobi World War, what was it? When did it occur?" The News anchor asked.

"The Fourth Great Shinobi World War began around the summer of 1996, and lasted until the early months of 1997. The War was fought in the Elemental Nations, a continent hidden by magic. We were drawn into the war when Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, our nation's premiere institute of learning, was attacked during an international tournament. Later the enemy attacked us again, attempting to land an invasion force in Dover. Some of you may recall the so called 'terrorist' incidents that occurred there. In reality our magical military fought off an incursion by our enemies. Finally after an attempted assassination during the wedding of one of the most powerful noblewomen in the country, we marched off to war, aiding our allies in the Elemental Nations in defeating our foes there. It was quite the event, and I'm sure it'll be extrapolated upon in the upcoming months, but I feel like delving to deeply into it now, will draw us completely off topic. Needless to say, we won the war." Draco explained, again earning the full attention of the three.

"You seem to have had quite the history, how old are you, if I might ask?" Natalie asked.

"I'm nineteen." Draco answered.

"Nineteen? That means you would have been sixteen or seventeen during this war." Natalie noted with surprise.

"And I was. In magical society, one can graduate from schooling after they complete their OWL tests, which occurs generally around when one is fifteen or sixteen years old. Our nation was in desperate need of capable fighters, and I had received combat training from the time I was twelve." Draco responded.

"Now when you say combat training, what exactly does that pertain to?" David inquired. The man himself was a major in the army, and had been in the armed forces since he was eighteen. The man was currently closing in on his fifteenth year of service.

"I was taught in the shinobi way of fighting by my very good friend, Riley Uchiwa. She was born and raised in the Elemental Nations and became a shinobi at a very young age. By the time we met she was already a notable bounty hunter within Europe and had successfully captured or killed dozens of treacherous, corrupt, or murderous magicals. The Elemental Nations are a brutal place where the conscription of child soldiers is unfortunately an overly common occurrence. She left that place when she was eight and immigrated to Britain when she was eleven. She taught me in the ways of self-defense and eventually I asked her to teach me in the ways of combat, learning how to fight as the shinobi do. So by the time I sixteen, and marching off to war, I had already been learning the ways of battle for nearly four years. Honestly that's far more training than our non-magical military gets before they are forced into battle." Draco explained, earning a slow nod from David, and an appalled look from Natalie. The idea of child soldiers striking against her values.

"So, what can you tell us about the recent events here in London?" Oliver asked.

"Over the last few months we've been under siege by an organization calling themselves Millennium. They were comprised of surviving officers from the Nazi regime that operated during World War II. They survived by turning their members into vampires. The organization's goal was to trigger a third World War, by causing the collapse of mainstream society. London was their first target. Had they succeeded here, they would have no doubt moved on to other capitols all over Europe, causing anarchy and chaos. They were an order of fiends, dedicated to nihilism and destruction. A cult of death worshiping psychopaths, who've been planning this for decades. They began their attack by assassinating the heads of England's government. Killing members of parliament and the Royal Family. They than used infiltrators to attack our military bases across the nation, handicapping our ability to respond to their true attack on London. They commenced their attack late at night, cutting off our communications and bombing the city. They then invaded using zeppelins to drop ground troops that began to systematically murder anyone in sight. They then raised those they had killed as ghouls and used these ghouls to swell their ranks. What started with just a thousand vampires, would soon add tens of thousands of ghouls to their number. Luckily the Hellsing organization, and the Knights of the Round table were able to organize a rapid counter attack. Our magical military responded quickly to the enemy threats and held the line while civilians were evacuated. Fighting went into the early morning until finally the zeppelins were brought down and the leaders of the organization were captured or killed." Draco explained to the three and everyone watching, he could see both Natalie and Oliver were deeply disturbed when he mentioned how these vampires had murdered and than raised innocent civilians as their tools.

"So vampires are real? Like the stories and such?" David asked, in full information gathering mode, and knowing full well his superiors were watching this interview very closely.

"In a manner of speaking yes. Vampire are real. They are highly immune to damage, and can only easily be killed by specific means. For instance magic can cause them harm. So can blessed munitions. Destroying their hearts or cutting off their heads will kill them." Draco answered.

"And they can bring people back as zombies?" Natalie noted, making sure she was hearing that part correctly.

"Not zombies. Ghouls. And not every vampire can accomplish such a feat. Vampiric power is based heavily on ones decent from the original vampire. Most vampires you'll find wandering the streets are generally good people, they feed off of animal blood or donated human blood and just live life the best they can. Vampirism is generally an affliction and one without a cure, so people have to survive with it the best way they can. Most vampires nowadays are fifteen to twenty generations descended from the original meaning they're relatively weak. They can't turn into bats, or make ghouls. Only vampires closely related to the original, and those that are blood drunk can create ghouls. Usually such a power is found only in those within two or three generations of Count Dracula. Within the Millennium airships we found evidence that they were using the remains of one of Dracula's sirelings that he created hundreds of years ago. This person is deceased but the vampiric disease remains within them, and by using her, they were able to create an army of vampires with such powers. Outside of Millenium, maybe less than a hundred vampires in the world, can create ghouls." Draco answered, making sure to emphasize that this was an ability constricted to only a few and that Millennium was an exception, not the norm.

"What's the difference? Between a ghoul and a zombie?" David asked.

"Zombies are just reanimated corpses, filled with malevolent desires. They are single minded, with little to no problem solving ability. Ghouls are more intelligent. They can be as dumb as a rotting corpse or they can be trained like humans to respond to commands and even operate with tactics. They are far more dangerous." Draco responded, earning a nod of understanding from David.

"You mentioned Count Dracula, as well as the Hellsing Organizations. I'm assuming that has something to do with Van Hellsing like in the story books?" Oliver questioned.

"Many stories you've heard as mere fairy-tales, or fantasy actually hold more than a few grains of truth to them. Part of our society staying hidden from the outside world involve spinning such tales to make them appear as mere fantasy. Yes Dracula is real. Yes Doctor Van Hellsing was real and he did fight and defeat Dracula. Normally we keep such truths hidden away, but sometimes they slip out to the non-magical populace, and when that happens, it's often spun as mere fantasy. The Hellsing organization was founded over a century ago to act as an elite monster hunting force. Since then it has refined it's role from just monster hunting, to now offering their knowledge to various magical and muggle governments around the world to help deal with magical or fantastical threats that exit our world and enter yours. The Hellsing Organization is our Special Air Service. We have the Cysgodol Legion as our magical military and the DMLE as our magical police force. All three of these organizations hold a seat on, and are overseen by, the Knights of the Round Table. The Knights were chosen directly by the late Queen, from magical and non-magical ranks to ensure that on both sides of the fence, England was well looked after." Draco informed them all, earning a nod from David and Natalie and a hum of curiosity from Oliver.

"So, the magical world has kept itself a secret for, I'm presuming, centuries. Now with this recent attack, the cat's sort of out of the bag." Oliver offered.

"Yes. In simplest terms, that is essentially the state we're in now." Draco agreed.

"Why were you hiding?" Natalie asked.

"There has always been conflict between magicals and muggles. Look as the rise of Christianity throughout Europe as a prime example. Those suspected of witchcraft were burned at the stake, or hung. These events are as true as those fantasy stories I mentioned earlier. One of the biggest detriments to us, was that magic isn't a constant within a family. You can have a dozen generations of pure and powerful magical beings and then one day a child is born that simply doesn't have it. That's genetics for you. Sometimes things just happen. Suddenly magic dies off within a community. The leading suspicion for magical deterioration has to do with it's lack of use. Magic is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. As technology advances magic must advance with it, otherwise it becomes less useful, less people need it, thus it's used less, it gets weaker, less people are born with it, on and on this goes until eventually it just starts to fade in groups. Add onto that the fear mongering and the rise of technology such as firearms, and we had an even greater reason in our need to hide." Draco expressed to them.

"Wow. Sounds like magic itself is quite temperamental. I heard a report from one of my producers that said that magicals can suddenly appear out of nowhere. Is that just something to do with ancestry or is it really random?" Oliver queried.

"Yes. Humans by their nature are highly magical beings. Most races either have it, or you don't. While not everyone does, we have a higher degree of people born with the ability than most others who find themselves in our position. In some cases we find when a magical child reappears to non-magical parents, that one parent actually does have magical ancestry, but other times we can't find anything. No prior magic lies within them. For instance, my fiance, is a first generation witch, we call them muggleborn, as both of her parents are non-magicals. They have no magical history, magic just appeared within her when she was born. It just happens." Draco answered the question, slipping slightly out of his cool and calculated responses, as this topic was actually one of great interest to magicals and they often found it very fascinating.

"What's happening now? With the reveal of magic, the magical populace of England has sort of taken an active role in helping to rebuild. We've seen them using magic to heal the injured and sick, rescue people who were trapped, rebuild structures and the like. They've provided food, shelter, and the like to a lot of people who desperately need it." Oliver asked.

"Well what choice do we have now? Our existence is known, at this point it would just be cruel to ignore those in desperate need so the Ministry has lifted the restrictions on magical use, and is encouraging anyone and everyone to get out there and try to do what they can to help." Draco answered.

"Well I think I speak for a great many of us when I say we're all very thankful for what you've done for us." Oliver stated, earning nods of agreement from Natalie and David.

"Yes, thank you. I spoke with a mother and young child just this morning and they told me how a kind young woman had healed the child's broken leg after the attack. They were both very grateful to her for her selfless act." Natalie informed them.

Draco offered a polite smile and a nod of acceptance for their gratitude, keeping everything formal, yet lighthearted.

"Alright, I think we have time for two more questions. David, Natalie, if the two of you would each like to ask Mr Malfoy one more question before we finish." Oliver expressed.

"In your opinion what is the magical worlds direction moving forward?" Natalie asked.

"Moving forward, we intend to do what is necessary to get the country back on it's feet. We're dedicated to working with our non-magical countrymen to recover from this painful strike against us, and in doing so, reforge ties that were severed long ago." Draco answered, before turning his attention to David.

"I've been hearing rumors that the magicals recently elected their own Queen. What can you tell us about that?" David asked, earning curious looks from both Natalie and Oliver.

"With our reveal comes an unprecedented alteration to our society. We as a magical society need a guiding light, someone to help guide us forward during this tumultuous time. Queen Artoria Pendragon, is that guiding light. Our council of lords elected her, and we choose to follow behind her as we navigate these chaotic times. None of us will ever forget those that fell to Millennium, including the Royal Family, but we refuse to allow grief to halt our advance. If we falter in the face of despair, than Millennium will have won, and we refuse to allow that. I hope in the coming days you all get the chance to see Queen Artoria as we see her, and make your own decisions on her merits." Draco responded.

"Well that will definitely be something we all pay attention to. Mr. Malfoy, thank you for coming on, we were glad to have you, and we wish for the best for our magical cousins in the future. Hopefully we can all navigate these chaotic times together." Oliver closed out the segment.

Draco was quick to depart after the interview, **Apparating** away when all was said and done. He quickly returned to Riley and his father, both of whom were watching the live interview from the comfort of the ministry.

"How was that?" Draco inquired.

"We'll have to see how they react. This first run was the easiest. They're still in shock over everything that's happened. Next time they'll come out swinging and we'll start to face their criticism. The doors have also been opened to them learning about the full power we possess. It wont be long before they start asking questions about what a shinobi truly is, and what they can do with magic. That'll lead them to Jinchuriki eventually. The reveal of such powerful entities will light a fire under their asses for sure." Riley noted in response.

"For now we wait and see, and plan our next move. Let's continue our work in peace, for as long as we can." Lucius suggested.

"I agree. Eventually, such peace will be a luxury we can no longer afford." Riley offered in agreement.

And it would be. Soon the shock would fade, and the world would truly begin to scrutinize their every action.

**-Riley's Home, London. August 20th 1999-**

Riley, and Kushina sat watching as Artoria snarfed down a late dinner. One thing that seemingly would never change about the ancient ruler was her appetite.

"Gotta finish eating and then get some sleep. It's back to the fields tomorrow for more work." Riley hummed, earning a nod from Artoria as she continued to eat.

"Coming to bed soon, love?" Riley heard Fleur inquire. Riley turned her gaze over to her pregnant wife, to see her peeking around the corner with Katie and Luna as well.

Riley offered the three a smile and nodded, earning a chorus of smiles in return. "I'll be up in a few minutes."

The three quickly returned to bed, satisfied with her reply.

"We need to get you on a better schedule, so that you're not having to eat and then go to sleep immediately afterwards." Kushina noted to Artoria, whom nodded in agreement.

"I know I should, I've just been very busy lately and it's easy to lose track of time." Artoria responded.

"Yeah. Still though, eating should be a priority." Kushina stated.

"At the very least making sure you get your three meal a…" Riley began only to stop and turn her gaze towards one of the walls.

"What is it?" Artoria asked.

"Someone's here. At the boundaries of my wards. A demonic presence." Riley noted as her gaze turned sharp and she made for the front door.

Kushina and Artoria quickly followed after her, stepping out into the yard. There standing just outside of the ward boundaries was a man. Quite beautiful in nature. He wore long white robes, that seemed to be made from the finest of fabrics. He was average height for a man, though his features were far from average. He had silvery white hair, it was messy up top but tied off into a pony tail that hung down to his thighs. He truly was a beautiful man, with alluring purple eyes.

"Merlin!" Artoria uttered in disbelief.

"What?" Riley and Kushina stated in unison.

"**DA DA DUM!"** Kurama bellowed.

"_I fucking hate you..."_ Riley muttered internally as the fox burst out laughing. This situation had further taken a turn for the weird. With the reappearance of Caliburn, or at least a sword that bore it's likeness, and now the reappearance of the might Merlin, it was apparent to the demoness that the future was set to be quite turbulent indeed.

**-To be Continued-**

_**Alright, hope everyone enjoys, and I hope everyone is staying safe out there. Now over a week into quarantine and I'm beginning to lose my mind. Stay strong my friends, we'll make it through this crap one day.**_


	19. 19: A Promising Start

_**Alright, here's the next chapter, hope everyone is staying safe out there. And I hope boredom isn't driving you all to insane, like it is me. I've honestly never wanted to go to work more than I do right now. I pray to the six hundred and sixty-six gods of the abyss that this shit passes soon so we can go back to making fun of Florida man and his weekly shenanigans.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

Chapter 19: A Promising Start.

**-Riley's Home, London. August 20th 1999-**

"Merlin?" Riley and Kushina responded in unison, sharing a look of surprise with each other. Riley allowed the wards to part slightly, opening a way forward for the strange man. As soon as she did, he was able to see them and immediately took notice of Artoria.

"My king! Hello!" Merlin greeted cheerfully, advancing forward only to be halted as Artoria leveled a stern and authoritative glare at him.

"Where have you been you troublesome magus?" Artoria demanded, earning a nervous laugh from the man.

"I got myself into a bit of bind." He began with another nervous chuckle.

"You often do. What changed?" Artoria pressed.

"Well this time, the bind was a bit more literal and I was unable to get out. I was trapped in a tower that stretched upwards forever. I've been there for quite a long time, as it seems. But then, suddenly just a few days ago, I awoke from a nap to find myself back in Britain. With no memory of how I got here." Merlin explained.

"You just awoke here after being imprisoned for fifteen hundred years?" Artoria responded, eyeing the man with a pinning stare.

"Fifteen hundred years? Wow. It truly has been a long time. And yet here you stand, still alive." Merlin noted with curiosity, approaching and then circling her, examining her like some sort of oddity. Artoria simply stared straight ahead, her gaze still hard, and showing no signs that she was at all confused by his actions.

"I fell in battle, as you showed me I would. But before my death, I was saved by the Shinigami. In return for allowing my soul to join with death when I finally passed, he offered to bring me here to serve a god." Artoria responded.

"To serve a god?" Merlin replied with a curious look. Artoria gestured towards Riley in response, causing him to turn his gaze towards the demoness. The strange half-demon examined Riley with his amethyst eyes, taking in her demonic features, the gray skin, the pointed ears, her tails and hair, before finally settling on her eyes. He found himself staring quite intently into her eyes, basking in the power that radiated from them.

"I don't think that's a god, your grace." Merlin noted after a moment, earning a sigh from Artoria, and a chuckle from Riley.

"I'm not a god, just like you're not a man." Riley stated, allowing her pupils to become slitted and her eyes to turn red.

Merlin stared at her for a moment, before slowly turning his gaze to Artoria and whispering to her, "I think she might be a monster."

Kushina and Riley both let out a chuckle at that, while Artoria simply sighed again.

"Be careful how you address her, Merlin. That is my bride you speak of." Artoria commanded, causing Merlin to tense up at that.

"Yo-Your bride?" He questioned, glancing between the two.

"Yes. Lady Riley is my good friend, and she is a powerful ally. Marrying her will help to solidify my claim to the throne of England." Artoria responded, her attitude remaining cool and detached, as if she had dealt with his antics for so long that she was now immune to his actions.

Merlin stared at her for a long moment as a smile crept across his face.

Artoria's irritation was visible as Merlin let out a musical laugh.

"In this day and age, mankind is less resistant to the idea of a woman as a ruler, so you can't have chosen her because you're still hiding your gender. That must mean you actually like this bride of yours!" Merlin accused, smirking at her, as Artoria let out an irritated sigh.

"Troublesome mage." Artoria muttered, as she kept her composure. So rarely did Merlin manage to truly annoy her anymore, and she would not allow him to once again get under her skin.

"Hey whats not to like, my daughter is a great match." Kushina challenged indignantly.

"I most certainly am." Riley agreed, draping an arm around Artoria. The action caused her to wince as she knew that Merlin would tease her for it, but she did not pull away, or try to brush off the affectionate gesture, which in truth meant a great deal to her.

One of the things Artoria loved most about Riley was that Riley actually saw her, for her. She didn't see the precise, machine-like king that couldn't be moved, nor did she see the battle-hardened knight, draped in chivalry and honor. What Riley saw was Artoria, the person. A combination of both those things, layered over what had once been a sparkling and joyful young woman, who dreamed of being a knight.

This was a part of Artoria that had long since withered away, buried under her responsibilities as a knight and a king. She only hoped that Riley would continue to see her as such, even when the burdens of this new crown, were laid upon her.

"Before my departure from these lands, I had offered a silent prayer. It was something I never dreamed would come true, but I had hoped it would help you none the less. A prayer that you would find some measure of happiness in the world. Despite what I say now, and will probably say later, I am happy that you have found someone to love. Love is a beautiful and dangerous thing, and it will bring with it, its own curses that will hinder your rule, but I believe in you, as I always have." Merlin stated after a moment, earning a smile and a nod of acceptance from Artoria.

"I am happy to see you again, my old friend. I have missed you." Artoria responded to the old magus.

"So, you've once again put forth a claim for the throne of England? Perhaps we should talk. I had kept an eye on the world from my prison, but I think I've missed a few things." Merlin noted, earning a nod of agreement from Artoria. She then turned her gaze towards Riley, who offered a nod.

"We'll be back in a moment mother. Could you go and wake the others. I think they'll want to hear this?" Riley asked Kushina, earning a nod from the woman in the process.

"Lady Riley will take us to her pocket dimension so we can talk." Artoria informed Merlin whom nodded and eyed Riley with curiosity as she offered him her hand.

He took it after a moment, as Artoria took the other, and Riley drew them into **Kamui**.

She followed after them, but quickly wandered off to let them have a moment to themselves.

Merlin took a short time to examine the pocket dimension, his gaze passing over the physically impossible landscape, the towering trees and titanic mountains that pierced the heavens. The dim fiery glow of a setting sun bathed the landscape in an eerie orange, and the black clouds in the sky further added to the ominous feel of the place.

"Before we begin, explain this." Artoria commanded, drawing forth the Caliburn look-alike.

"That looks like Caliburn. Where did you get it?" Merlin inquired as he eyed the sword.

"It appeared by some sort of summoning ritual within the Wizengamot meeting chamber here in Britain. It appeared mere moments after I proclaimed myself as the new monarch." Artoria explained to him.

"Well it appears to be Caliburn. The sword has reappeared, though I don't know how. After it was broken, it was laid to rest. The sword shouldn't be here, much like myself, and yet it is." Merlin mused as he sat on a rock, and adopted a thoughtful look.

"I see. Alright then, what are you doing here?" Artoria asked after a few moments of quiet reflection.

"Well… the last thing I remember I was watching some humans busy feeding cheetahs in a zoo. Than all of a sudden everything went black, and suddenly I woke up on the beach. This was a few days ago. I wandered around, and learned that I was in Britain, and I even saw how witches and wizards were busy helping people recover from some sort of attack. I came across a newspaper and saw that it had been nearly twenty years since the moment I had last viewed before I awoke. So I was either unconscious, or in an otherwise restricted state for nearly two decades, before I awoke." Merlin explained to her.

"Do you remember what day it was that you last saw?" Artoria inquired.

"It was October tenth, about twenty years ago." Merlin answered.

"You went to sleep on the day that Riley was born." Artoria noted, earning a curious look from her old teacher.

"The Grim Reaper called her a god, and you agreed to serve her, why is that? What about her is so special?" Merlin questioned her.

"While you were watching humanity, did you eyes ever fall upon the Elemental Nations? A place of powerful magic, and Shinobi?" Artoria asked.

"No. I've never heard of such a place." Merlin admitted.

"So your gaze couldn't pierce through the barrier around the continent? Interesting. Well… perhaps I should start at the beginning. Riley is descended from the Sage of Six Paths, a progenitor of magic in humans. Over three thousand years ago, this man spread magic to a vast majority of the human race, and is regarded by many as the father of magic." Artoria began, earning a nod from Merlin.

"Him, I have heard of. This was before my time, but three thousand years ago was around the time magic really began to flourish in humans. Before then, it remained quite restricted to those with special gifts, or bloodline traits. You usually had to be descended from a god or something like that to have magic in those days." Merlin noted with a chuckle as he motioned for her to continue.

"Well, as I said, Riley is his descendant. She managed to awaken his bloodline ability, the legendary **Rinnegan**. The magicals I know, call them the Eyes of God, and according to Riley, awakening those eyes grants the person a degree of divinity. What that truly means, I'm not sure, but at the very least the owner of those eyes becomes godlike, and is granted eternal life, if they so choose." Artoria continued.

"So those eyes of hers were the eyes of god?" Merlin asked.

"The ripple pattern, denotes the **Rinnegan**. The black tomoe that encircle her pupil indicates that her eyes have ascended beyond the **Rinnegan** to a more advanced state. She refers to her eyes as the **Rinne Sharingan**. Literally meaning the Saṃsāra Copy-Wheel eye. Those eyes alone grant her godlike powers beyond imagining. However… she is also the vessel of a powerful archdemon. A being that once made up part of the raw power of the Tree of Life. The Sage sealed away the power of the tree when it became corrupted and later separated it into nine pieces. The strongest of those pieces was sealed into her when she was born. The same day you slipped into darkness." Artoria explained to him, earning a calculating look from the old magus.

"I see. So a god, with the power of an archdemon. I guess the Grim Reaper wasn't exaggerating. I think I can see why you would choose her as your betrothed. With that much power, she would be quite the useful ally to have." Merlin noted.

"She is also politically powerful here in Britain, with many allies. We are also close, close enough that I feel comfortable sharing in the responsibility of ruling with her." Artoira admitted.

"I see. So, after everything you went through, why now put forth your claim to the Throne? You could just live a normal life, free of such responsibilities and hardships." Merlin inquired.

"That had been my intention. I had no desire for the throne any longer, nor did I see it as my duty to lead these people. I would protect them when it was needed, and I would offer my strength when it was required, but my time had come and gone. Then we were attacked by an army of vampires. The royal family that ruled this nation well, lost their lives to those devilish fiends. Britain was without a leader, without a guiding hand. It was Riley who put forth my name for consideration by the magical populace. The lords of and ladies of Magical Britain cheered my name, and looked to me for guidance. Despite my wishes, it had now become my duty once more. I could not refuse. My people needed me, needed a leader, needed a monarch. So I accepted the call to action, and when I did, Caliburn reappeared, unbroken. The stone that held it, held the words, 'Let this sword rest in Magic's heart until the Once and Future King arises to claim it. Let the one who pulleth this sword be forever known as the rightwise ruler of all England.'" Artoria answered, earning a thoughtful look from the old magus.

"Well that is curious. I am sorry you were put in this position, but it sounds like you were always meant for it. At least you wont be alone this time. You have found someone to carry that burden with you." Merlin responded after a moment, giving her a pleasant smile as he did.

"I have accepted it. I will do my duty, and I will lead these people to the best of my abilities, but I wont do I alone. Riley put my name forth, and as the one whom I love, it seems only right that she share in this responsibility." Artoria replied, causing Merlin's smile to grow at her admittance to her feelings.

"You've grown quite a bit since last we spoke. Less guarded and more free, like you were as a child and a young woman. Well, I do not know what challenges lay before you, but know that I am here for you, and if you'll have me, I would like to offer my service to you once more." Merlin offered to her.

"I accept your offer and welcome your return to my side. I still have much to learn, of that I have never held any doubt. And I believe your strength, knowledge, and wisdom, may be necessary to ensure the safety and security of not only Britain, but the entire world." Artoria responded, her words causing Merlin's smile to falter. The way Artoria's visage hardened and darkened, let him know that something ominous lay on the horizon.

"What troubles you?" Merlin inquired.

"You always held the gift of prophecy. We now stand at the precipice of two world shattering predictions. One vague and possibly unlikely. The other we've seen evidence of happening. Neither is good for us. The former was a vision had by one of Riley's mates, a seeress. She saw a vision of a great flood that would drown millions, of ice being destroyed. We have no idea what else this prophecy involves or when it could possibly occur, but it troubles Riley. The other prophecy involves an attack from an Archdevil, and our world falling to the Dark Realms. The Archdevil responsible for the attack, has made several appearances through his showings of power. He used his strength to turn a city of worshipers to stone, mimicking the fate of mankind in the vision, and we also faced his army during a recent war, and were able to turn them back. Now we believe he plans to continue his assault on the Earth. Two prophecies, both pointing towards devastation." Artoria explained.

Merlin was silent as he listened to her, taking in these two prophecies and gauging their validity. The first was unlikely, as no other proof had been found to point towards those events occurring, but the second seemed far more plausible if the Archdevil had already been encountered. An Archdevil was an interesting threat. A being with perfect control over it's magic yet their power ranged from being planetary threats, to being capable of laying siege to entire dimensions. Their only equals were Gods Archfiends, Archangels, and Archdemons. If Artoria was still concerned about this entity, despite having a goddess as a lover, than it most likely went past just a planetary threat. Meaning it was a powerful, and ancient Archdevil. Not a foe, easily bested. They had time, power, and patience, in abundance. Fighting one would be a difficult task, even with a god on their side.

"How much time do you think we have before this second prophecy comes true?" Merlin inquired.

"In it, Riley was seen along with her mates. This prophecy was had by two different seers. Which further affirms it's validity. The second seer to see it was also Luna. In it she described seeing Riley with her mates, and these mates were all of a certain age. Late twenties, to early thirties. However, the issue presents itself in that each one of them had been made into Riley's paths. Riley herself, due to the **Rinnegan**, has access to an ability that allows her to infuse a piece of her power into bodies. These 'paths' can then utilize said powers, and act as a sort of extension of Riley. Due to her godly nature, these paths are most likely also immortal. So… anywhere from a few years, to centuries." Artoria explained, earning a nod of understanding from Merlin.

"Hmm… well, I guess that mean that now, more than ever, my assistance is needed. I will do what I can to help us avoid this catastrophe. Perhaps it's best we get started?" Merlin responded after several long moments of thought.

"Yes, I agree." Artoria stated as she turned her gaze over to the forest of trees and nodded her head. With incredible speed, something landed in Artoria's shadow and stepped out from behind her.

Merlin blinked a few times, impressed by the show of speed. If nothing else, Riley was definitely one of the fastest individuals he'd ever seen.

Riley stood next to Artoria and eyed Merlin for a moment. She then offered him a smirk, "So you'll be helping us out then?"

"Yes. Considering it's the whole world we're talking about here, I would be remiss in my duties to my own self-preservation if I simply chose to ignore this threat." Merlin responded with a smirk matching her own.

"So you told him about our demonic issue?" Riley inquired, glancing at Artoria, and earning a nod in response. "Well that's good. We need to begin preparing for this event. I've seen more than enough to convince me that even if the prophecy itself isn't true, the chance of us coming into further contact with this Archdevil is enough that we should be prepared."

"I agree. No matter how powerful you may be, an Archdevil is an opponent beyond most others. We must prepare ourselves, and ensure we are not so easy a target. In my experience, the only thing such dark entities care about more than their power is their lives. If you present an actual threat to their existence, chances are good they'll leave you alone." Merlin offered up, earning a nod of agreement from Riley.

"Yeah. Given the power I possess, I'm worried that there's more to this devil's intentions then just conquering a world. Why don't we head back, and I'll introduce you to the family, and we can have this conversation in full?" Riley offered. Artoria and Merlin both nodded at that, so Riley took them out of **Kamui** and brought them back to her house where Riley's family members were already up and gathering in the kitchen.

Introducing the ancient magus to them was a surprise to be sure, though they were far less shocked then other would most likely be. Considering how often ancient entities, reincarnates, demons, and gods, got involved in their daily lives, it was definitely becoming just an uncommon occurrence to run into one, rather than an impossibility.

Hashirama, Madara, Kushina, Sirius, Kaguya, Tobirama, Izuna, and those of Riley's children who lived with her, all gathered around in the kitchen to discuss what was going on and what they knew about the current situation and the possible future. Riley's mates were also awoken and brought down, and Luna was asked to explain in detail everything she remembered about both prophetic visions.

The more reactive reactions, came the following day when Artoria introduced Merlin to Lucius and the Round Table. Learning about King Arthur's return was one thing, now adding on the return of the legendary Magus of Flowers, and the knights of the Round Table were more convinced then ever that supporting Artoria would be taking the country places.

Where those places were was still up for debate, but they were most certainly headed away from where they'd been.

-**August 25****th**** 1999-**

Over the course of the next few days, the strength of the new magical kingdom began to grow. Riley made a personal trip to the Elemental Nations to inform the various village leaders about what had happened out in the rest of the world.

The first place she visited was Suna, to let Gaia know that she might want to brace for a storm. With the Fall of the Statute, it was only a matter of time before someone let the muggle world know about the location of the Elemental Nations and how to get there.

Riley also explained the situation in regards to their change in government, with Artoria being chosen as the new Queen, and rallying magical Britain behind her. She also offered, if a bit begrudgingly that Artoria had also asked Riley to marry her, meaning that Riley would have a very strong tie to the magical monarchy, which altered the perimeters of their marriage alliance, and despite Riley dreading the responsibility she might be saddled with, she knew that Gaia, and Yugito both needed to know this as it did alter the fundamentals of their alliance.

Though Riley suspected that neither village would be upset to hear this. They had originally tied themselves to a national hero, now they would be tying themselves to, at the very least, the Queen's Concubine.

Gaia accepted the information and offered to help however she could. After Riley's departure she immediately called a council meeting, things were going to change and they needed to be prepared for when the hammer fell.

Riley's next trip was to meet with the Raikage and Yugito. Again she explained what had happened to Britain and in regards to the Statute of Secrecy and expressed her concern for what would happen when the muggle world decided to try and investigate the Elemental Nations.

Riley was even more cautious in letting the Raikage know that she was now Artoria's betrothed, knowing full well that his council would be ecstatic to hear that. Riley did spend a few minutes with Yugito before she departed, sharing her thoughts with future wife as they discussed what these changes could possibly mean for them. Before departing she gave Yugito a kiss and promised her she'd come visit again before Yugito was sent to Sunagakure.

Afterwards Riley swung by Kirikagure and informed the Mizukage about what had happened, and once that was done she went the Hidden Sky village to let her allies there know about what had happened as well.

With their allies in the Elemental Nations now brought up to speed on the state of things in the world, Riley returned to Britain to continue aiding her fiance in cleaning up the mess there.

With Riley taking a more upfront role in aiding the people of England, she had taken to once again hiding her demonic features in their entirety. She hid her pointed ears, and gray skin, making herself appear completely human. The only traits that gave away her true nature were her tails which she kept wrapped around her waist, and her wings which she kept shaped as a long jacket.

Arguments aplenty were had as the muggles began to recover from the shock of magic's reveal, and the attack on London. People were quick to notice how it appeared that the magicals were taking control of the situation and people began whispering about some sort of coup.

These fears were exacerbated by the military seemingly siding with the magicals. Due to the strong connections the Round Table had with the military, it was easy for them to get control over it. Many of the members of the Convention of Twelve, were former military men, as Generals, or Admirals, their words carried a lot of weight amongst their peers, and with their aid, the military was quickly falling under the direction of the Round Table, and thus under Artoria's control.

This led many in the country to begin suspecting a military coup as the army began to enforce marshal law in places all over the nation to ensure that order was maintained during the collapse in government.

During this time Artoria began having meetings with various military leaders, gaining further support from her allies as she worked on uniting the nation.

-**London, England. August 27****th**** 1999-**

"We could be looking at riots if people's fears aren't assuaged soon." A High ranking Air Marshal in the Royal Air Force, spoke with a friend of his on the Round Table.

"There are interviews set up for the coming days to help spread information to the public. We need to get the media on our side, to help settle the populace." Rob Walsh, responded as he lit a cigarette and took a drag from it.

"Yeah settle them." The Air Marshal responded as he pierced his old friend with a look.

"You want to say something, go ahead and say it?" Walsh stated, a smirk touching at his lips as he took another drag.

"The Magical populace has elected their own ruler and that ruler is establishing control over the entire country. The military in it's entire seems to just be going along with it, and I suspect you and your pals in that organization have a part to play in it." The Air Marshal began.

"You'd be correct in your assumption old friend." Rob Walsh responded.

"My question is why? Why support a magical regime. Are they worried we cannot rebuild on our own? Are they afraid of what will happen now that their secret is out?" The Air Marshal pressed with a look of concern.

"I think so. But then again, I don't blame them for being worried. The magicals are outnumber vastly by non-magical people." Walsh responded with a dark chuckle.

"Then why support them? Why support the minority, and possibly earn the wrath of the majority?" The Air Marshal pressed.

"Power." Rob Walsh responded, leaning forward in his chair and eyeing his old friend.

"Power? What do you mean by that?" The Air Marshal inquired.

"The magical populace are the minority but they hold more power then the rest of the world. And I mean in specific, magical Britain. What would you say if I told you we have at our disposal a weapon that could destroy entire continents? What would you say if I told you we had a tool that could bring the freshly dead, back to life? What if I told you we had in our possession, the most powerful magical warrior in the world? A woman who can fell entire armies with her powers. A woman who carries an aspect of god. A woman, who is now set to be married to the magical queen, ensuring their dominance, in the magical world. You ask why we're supporting them? My answer is that it's 1945, and the atomic bomb was just dropped. Power unlike anything we've ever seen, was just put on display, and the whole world now holds it's breath. We're walking into a new arms race, my friend, and we've got the head start. We either seize the moment, or we allow ourselves to be crushed by it." Rob Walsh responded, staring directly at his long time friend.

The Air Marshal stared back, visible surprise, confusion, and concern danced across his face, as he took in what was said. After a moment he slowly nodded and sat back in his chair. He knew his friend wasn't one for bullshit, which meant that he must be telling the truth. What then, did that mean for rest of the world?

**-London, England. August 28th 1999-**

Riley sat on her couch watching the tv. Sat next to her snuggled into her side was Fleur, opposite Fleur was Kaede, both of whom leaned against Riley. Sitting on the floor by Riley's feet was Luna, whom was also watching the television with great interest.

Standing or sitting elsewhere around the room were other members of Riley's family, all watching the television waiting for Draco's next interview to start. Over the last few days, speculation had been running rampant across the media with some accusing the magicals of trying to take over and benefit off of the recent attack, others were demanding answers and the like. Elsewhere in the world, other magical organizations were working with their various governments to slowly reveal themselves to their muggle counterparts. This slow, and careful reveal meant that magical Britain was one of the few organizations in the world where one could actually find information on magic, so these interviews were highly televised, and often shown across the world.

Various national leaders, both magical and muggle would be watching this interview as they had the first one.

Riley most certainly did not envy her best friend the task ahead. This time, the hard questions would be asked, and Draco may be called upon to defend the actions of the magical world, Riley wished him luck in that regard, and kept her focus on the television, eager to see this play out.

-**News Station, London-**

Draco Malfoy sat quietly as he waited patiently for the interview to start. Aside from the host, Oliver, Draco would once again be speaking with Natalie, David, as well as two additional panelists. One was a medical professional, a biologist named Hugh, and the other was an economist named Julia.

Draco was well aware that this time around it would be just him as the center of questioning. All five of these people were here as representatives from different fields to hammer him with questions about the magical world and what their reveal would mean for the rest of the planet. A reporter, a government official, a military man, a doctor, and a businesswoman.

This would definitely be interesting.

Draco kept his gaze down and continued to reflect as he heard Oliver begin to speak, he introduced the segment and began to introduce the group. Draco offered a quiet acknowledgment as he the cameras passed over him, but otherwise remained quiet as the panel began talking about the recent events.

Just like before Draco allowed them a few moments to speak on what they knew and get out their own points and speculations before the farce was swept away and this whole thing became directed at him.

They spent the first two or three minutes discussing recent events such as the magicals providing healing to the sick or injured in hospitals to those that allow it.

Draco let out a small chuckle as the biologist explained that doctors were concerned about treatments being administered to their patients. The use of magic and or potions to cure various sicknesses, diseases and injuries wasn't exactly regulated, and while the magicals weren't forcing their treatment onto people, doctors were concerned that their could be outlying conditions or concerns involved in these 'undocumented' treatments.

Draco allowed them to continue, knowing full well that someone, probably one of the producers of this program intended to press him and press him hard. They were going to get out some of the things they were concerned about, in an attempt to find some sort of 'gotcha' moment, that they could use to get a grip on the magical world. Something they could use as a talking point, that would allow them to filter in their own agenda. Right now, they didn't know enough and could only speculate and watch. Once they had information, they could then begin to work it in a way that allowed them to get their points across or paint the story how they saw fit.

Draco allowed them to continue, keeping all of their talking points in mind, as he formulated his responses to them.

"There's also the effect of these 'spells' used in law enforcement. We've seen cases already of magicals using their powers to paralyze people, rendering them unable to move. What are the side effects of doing that to the body? Does anyone even know?" Hugh stated aloud, earning a nod of agreement from Natalie and Julia.

"Well why don't we turn to the man with the answers? Mr. Malfoy, how do we know what side effects these spells may have on a person? What testing is done to ensure that there are no adverse reactions or long-term adverse changes to a person's body?" Oliver inquired, finally drawing Draco into the conversation.

"Well first and foremost I must express that the use of potions and magic are two entirely different things. Potions studies are carried out under close observation from experts and medical professionals. And many potion recipes are centuries old, having undergone use for longer than all of use combined, have been alive. I think we can all agree that an elixir that cures a cough, that has worked for centuries without producing any adverse effects, is not going to hurt anyone. New potions designs are made every day and they are tested thoroughly before entering a medical facility for primary use. Individuals are free to seek out private care, and in those cases, they take whatever risks they feel they must, but on a professional level, all of our medicines are tested, just as yours are. As for spells… well spells don't cause adverse side effects." Draco explained to them.

"But how do you know they don't? If you don't test them, how can you know the body's reaction to using these strange magics on a person. The human body is sensitive to such changes to the natural order of things, for example using magic to completely paralyze a person, doing that in our world without magic has significant risk, what makes you believe that magic doesn't hold the same risks?" Hugh pressed.

"I'm assuming since you reference law enforcement when you brought up paralyze, that you're either referring to the **Stunning ****Spell, **otherwise known as **Stupefy**, or you are referring to the **Full Body-Bind Curse, **also called **Petrificus Totalus**. Both of these spells are widely used in magical law enforcement and in dueling all over the world. In every magical state, you'll find that they use these spells or variations of them. **Stupefy**, renders a person unconscious, while **Petrificus Totalus**, freezes the body in place, paralyzing them. Though I have to emphasize in the latter's case when I say paralyze I mean their body is frozen in place, they cannot move from their position, not that they've gone limb, like someone who has suffered an injury causing bodily paralysis. Again, both of these spells are widely used and have been used for centuries and have caused no adverse side-effects in the victim of said spells. They are widely regarded as very humane and safe to use to subdue criminals, as they are both painless. These spells trigger a magical state in the victim. In the case of a stunner, it simply knocks them unconscious, though without the injury usually associated with unconsciousness. The person isn't harmed, and in most cases, awakens feeling nothing wrong at all. In the case of the **Full Body-Bind Curse**, the person in rendered completely immobile, though their senses are fully operational. They can see, hear, smell, feel, and even think. Both of these spells will wear off over time, and can be immediately undone by counter-spells or potions. I can assure you that given their longevity, these spells are the preferred method of dealing with criminals without the need to cause bodily harm." Draco explained to them all, taking pleasure in getting the chance to flex his knowledge about spells. He knew Hermione would be watching him, and would definitely take him to task if he made any errors.

"So spells can't cause negative side effects is what you're telling us?" Oliver continued the line of questioning as the others dissected Draco's reply.

"Of course certain spells and magics can cause negative effects to a person, or even unintentional effects to a person. For instance, spells that cause an extreme amount of mental stress, or spells that cause bodily harm, can and will have lasting effects on a person's body. Most spells used by law enforcement and healers are tried and true, test spells that have a long history. I can't speak for home brew magic. I can't speak for spells that people develop on their own and haven't submitted to testing or shared with others. I can only speak on publicly known spells, and I can assure you, that just short of an extremely violent confrontation, hazardous magics wouldn't be used again your average criminals, and experimental spells or potions wouldn't be given to a person without their consent. I can assure you that the use of a taser is far more detrimental to a person's well being, then any sort of stunning spell." Draco answered, earning a nod from Oliver, while the others wrote things down in their notes.

"But there are magics that can cause such lasting damage to a person. For instance the Aurors, the magical law enforcement group have access to… 'weaponized' spells?" David inquired, leaning forward in his seat as he eyed Draco curiously.

"Combat Spells, Elemental Magic, Dark Arts, Ninjutsu, all are what we would classify as 'battle magic'. Such spells have largely fallen into disuse since we've gone into hiding, and have only begun to reemerge with the Fourth Great Ninja War. We do have access to spells that are designed for conflict, and are meant to be used in actual combat. Such spells are generally only known by the Aurors, and very recently, they've come into heavy use by the Cysgodol Legion, our magical military. These spells are designed for combat between magicals, and thus often come with adverse effects. For instance you could image the difference between the two levels of magic as the difference between a taser and an assault rifle. We have access to both as a form of offense and defense in the face of threats." Draco responded.

"What about the stories I've been hearing of a ranking system for these spells. I've heard a few rumors that magical rank their spells based on destructiveness." David pressed, earning curious looks from everyone present.

"The ranking system you're referring to came out of the Elemental Nations decades ago. I think I should correct you by explaining that this ranking system isn't 'just' used to measure destructive power in a spell, but rather the impact of the spell, or the individual in the ranking system." Draco answered his question, finishing by taking a sip of water as he awaited the followup.

"Fair enough, but what about the rumors I've heard of so-called S-Ranked spells? Powers that can supposedly destroy entire cities?" David asked, earning surprised looks from many of his fellows, who shared dumbfounded glances with each other before turning their attention onto Draco.

Draco let out a sign at that, he could almost hear the entire magical world collectively cringe as that question was asked. It was the equivalent of talking about the weather and then immediately asking a nation about it's nuclear arsenal. Draco knew this would eventually come up, and he had been briefed on what he could say and what he couldn't, he had just expected it to take a lot longer to finally become a talking point.

"I think we're all curious to hear about this. Are you able to confirm that the magical world has access to spells that can cause such damage?" Oliver pressed, his producers, speaking into his earpiece the whole time pressing him to continue this line of questioning.

"Alright, where to start. I guess the best way to answer that question is to say that yes, such magics do exist. Magic is the fundamental force from which all other forces came to be. By our understanding, it predates, time, space, life, death, reality, existence. Basically everything that is, came from magic. It is the driving force that birthed all other forces of the universe, which is why in some cases, in can easily break the rules of reality. Magic is power. That is something you all need to comprehend to understand what you're dealing with here. It's a power unlike anything else, and we magicals hold such a tiny sliver of it, and even after all these years, can still barely grasp the forces at our control." Draco began to explain to them all.

"Now, as for such dangerous spells. Well what's you've most likely heard of are S-Ranked abilities. To properly understand, allow me to explain the ranking system. It was developed in the Elemental Nations to gauge the level of threat or power involved in a person, mission, or a spell. It starts at E-Rank, which is the lowest level. E-Rank is a civilian. A regular untrained person, no threat, no greater issue. D-Rank is someone like a soldier, they have training, skill, abilities that normal people don't. C-Rank, would be something like an armored vehicle, dangerous, deadly, powerful. B-Rank would be a fighter jet. Capable of a great deal of destruction. A-Rank would be a tank brigade, or a wing of bombers, capable of massive destruction. S-Rank would be a nuclear bomb. That is how these ranks would compare to what you see in the non-magical world." Draco explained to the five of them, and to all of the people watching.

"And there are 'people' that fall into these higher ranks?" Julia inquired.

"There are. As I said, these ranks mean different things depending on what's being ranked. If it's a missions, it's the level of importance or danger. If it's a person it's their power, or their threat level. If it's a spell, then it's the power behind the spell, or it's effect. Not every S-Ranked spell blows up a city. We'd all be dead if that was the case. For example, there exists barrier ninjutsu, capable of creating shields that can encompass an entire city. These shields cause no one harm, and can defend against attack from all angles, their size, and the power required to create them, makes them S-Ranked. As for S-Ranked individuals, they are in a league, all their own. To be considered S-Rank, is to be among the strongest in the known world. At any given time there is probably around thirty or so S-Ranked individuals on the planet. Individuals of this caliber are often regarded as deterrent towards conflict. Their abilities in battle, often mean that they can often stand as the reason why whole nations avoid fighting with each other. At the moment, Britain itself has a number of S-Ranked individuals in her service. These men and women are some of the strongest combatants in the known world." Draco explained.

"What kind of oversight is done to ensure that individuals like this don't cause trouble. I mean if they're as strong as you say, then how are they stopped if they decide to strikeout for themselves or switch sides?" Natalie inquired.

"As I noted, the ranking when it comes to people is tied to a general threat level, or specific level of ability, not to every single characteristic of these people. They can still be beaten in battle by skilled opponents of a lesser rank, who work together and utilize their own skill sets to bring them down. If one such individual goes rogue, they are generally hunted down by their homeland. People who reach this level of power are often held in high enough regard to be privy to many great secrets of their people, and thus, when they betray said people, they are hunted down and killed. No matter how powerful a person is, alone they can be overwhelmed. An organization of S-Ranked criminals known as the Akatsuki helped to aid our enemies in the Fourth Great Shinobi World War. Thanks to the skills and abilities of our soldiers, we survived against them, and over half of the organization was destroyed during the war by Lady Riley, including both of it's leaders. Those that survive to this day are hunted down, and hounded everywhere they go. When it comes to such criminals, we take them very seriously and deal with them accordingly." Draco offered as an explanation, earning surprise from everyone across from him.

"This same lady Riley who taught you? She brought down have of this organization of S-Ranked combatants?" Oliver inquired after a moment of silence.

"She did. A Ten man organization, she brought down four of them during the war, one defected their organization and joined us, one was killed in the final battle, one was killed by our hunters after the war, and the remaining three are still at large, being searched for throughout the Elemental Nations. Lady Riley is descended from a powerful heritage and is recognized as one of only four individuals in our history to ever hold the rank of double S-Ranked." Draco responded.

"Double S-Ranked? So there's a rank higher than S?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah. It was unofficial up until a few short years ago. It is only bestowed on individuals who's power so far exceeds that of even S-Ranked combatants, that there is no other choice but to set them in a category all their own. The first two individuals to ever hold the rank were given it posthumously. The first was Hashirama Senju, and the second was Madara Uchiha. Lady Riley's Great-Grandfather, and Grandfather, respectively. The third to be given the rank was Minato Namikaze, the Hidden Leaf Village's famed 'Yellow Flash'. It was said that he was so incredibly fast that he cut down an entire battalion of shinobi, in the blink of an eye. He was so fast that all that was seen of the event, was a yellow flash of light. He was the first to be given this rank while alive, and the nations adopted a 'flee on sight' policy in regards to him. It was thought that his like was only ever seen once in a hundred generations, but he would soon be surpassed by his daughter, Lady Riley. She was officially recognized as double S-Ranked after defeating the Angel of Carnage that destroyed Konohagakure and killed Minato Namikaze. Her victory there, earned her the moniker of the 'Hero of the Burning Leaf'." Draco explained to them all.

He knew it wouldn't be long before people started asking questions about Riley. Her presence in the magical world was too vast to go ignored, so it was best to start explaining the enigma that was Riley before the woman herself was forced into a position to have to speak for herself. Riley would definitely not take too kindly to people over analyzing her lifestyle or her family.

"Sounds like a family of incredibly powerful people." Oliver noted slowly, taking in the words of his producers as he did. "Now, the 'Angel of Carnage', what is that?"

"If you recall a few years ago, the incidents surrounding a winged humanoid, and the deaths of criminals throughout the world, that being was the Angel of Carnage. It appeared not long before those attacks began and eventually it destroyed one of our allies in the Elemental Nations. The angel was defeated by Lady Riley with the held of survivors from it's attack. The creature was sealed away, though it later escaped, and was subsequently resealed, to ensure that it couldn't cause such destruction again. And before you ask, no I don't know if it really was an angel, or if it just called itself that." Draco answered.

"So it's gone now?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, it's been sealed away, hopefully to never see the light of day again." Draco responded.

"What can you tell us about this Elemental Nations? You've brought it up a few times now." Julia inquired.

"The Elemental Nations is a continent hidden by a magical barrier. The continent itself is roughly the size of Europe, and is inhabited by non-magical people, as well as magicals we call Shinobi. As the name implies the various nations are named after certain elements, for example, the Land of Wind, or the Land of Lightning." Draco explained.

"And they recently had a 'world war'?" Oliver carried on the line questioning.

"Yes. Due to the lands being mostly cut off from the outside world, the average citizens don't really know about the world beyond their borders. So when most the various nations get involved in a large scale conflict, they consider it a world war. They've had four now, in their recent history. And before you ask, I wont be revealing their location on this program. That is for someone much higher up then myself to disclose." Draco answered, and made sure to emphasize that while happy to explain about magic or various events, he wasn't just going to tell them sensitive information. While he was sure that the surrounding countries knew about the Elemental Nations, he wasn't going to be the one to reveal it's position to the entire world.

"Fair enough. Well I've got one final question for you before we rap up, with the information you've provided, we've done a bit of research and found that these two strange events line up with the Fourth Great Shinobi War. We would like to know, just what we're seeing here." Oliver questioned directing everyone's attention to a nearby monitor where video played.

The first was rather low quality but it showed someone filming the sky, when suddenly a beam of light shot across it. The second video was far cleaner and looked professional. It was observing the sky, and showed a massive sphere of energy form in the air, swelling in size until it was as large as the moon. The video continued for several moments to show the massive sphere collapsing in on itself and vanishing from sight.

Draco knew exactly what he was seeing. These images were taken from Riley's battle with the Ten-Tails. The outpouring of magic in that battle had caused massive storms to swell up all over the world. Three category five hurricanes had appeared in the ocean simultaneously due to the influx of power, luckily none of them made landfall. But on top of the hurricanes, many places around the world were suddenly struck by intense storm cells that seemingly came from nowhere. Draco knew that people would eventually demand answer for this.

"What we're seeing these monitors is a very distant view of the final battle of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. The leader of the Akatsuki organization summoned a powerful monster to try and defeat us, but he efforts were halted by Lady Riley, with aid from Queen Artoria. The beast was successfully defeated before it could further cause harm and the Akatsuki leader was killed." Draco responded passively.

Oliver stared at him for several long moments before offering a nod.

The interview ended from there, with Draco quickly departing. It was about to get much louder out in the world he just knew, he could only hope that everyone was ready for this.

-**London, England. August 29****th**** 1999-**

Riley sat atop a building overlooking the city below, in the streets small groups of people congregated below, some going about their lives, some on the look out. Since the reveal of magic, many people had taken to rampant speculation, what was magic, what wasn't magic, who was secretly a witch or wizard, who was working for them, who knew, and who didn't? All questions that people were being consumed by.

Riley could feel the unease in these people. That fear and uncertainty that hounded their every step. It was a concerning state for the world to be in, though it was contrasted strongly by Artoria's party. Those that traveled with her, those that walked in her presence, the aura of the greatly Queen was a sight to behold and it moved people.

The time was soon to come to introduce her to the populace, to have Artoria speak to them directly and begin to uplift them and unite them. Right now she was focused on trouble spots, dealing with those that were causing trouble. Right now the biggest issue was making sure the military fell in line. If the soldiers were on their side, then the citizens would soon follow. To the average person, soldiers were often seen as heroic, and that was strongly put on display as the men and women of the military worked alongside the magicals and first-responders to restore order and keep everything moving. They made sure people kept working, they made sure that anarchy was kept from the streets, they made sure that the world kept turning and by starting there, it would ensure that people were moved to join them and support their cause.

Riley knew that people would come to their side, power and safety would entice them to come.

With a sigh, Riley rose to her feet and leaped down to the street below. Her sudden appearance drew the gaze of many as she walked down the sidewalk, ignoring their questioning gazes, and cautious glances.

Riley moved down the street casually keeping her eyes open for anyone who may need her help. It was task she wasn't alone in doing. If she wasn't with her mates, training, or working with Artoria, Riley would often be found out and about, usually with Kakashi wandering the streets and offering their time to anyone who needed it.

Kakashi's usual tardiness stemmed from his inability to refuse someone in need. If a person needed help with something, Kakashi always offered his aid. He was a good guy in that way, and because of that, people often excused his absence because they knew he was helping someone.

Riley had taken to going with him since the attack, and they would just offer their help if someone needed it. It was an awkward thing at first, especially considering in this day and age, strangers so rarely just offered to help with the simple things, but it was who Kakashi was and it was how he honored the memory of his fallen friends by helping people.

Kakashi wasn't here at the moment, but that wouldn't stop Riley was carrying out the ritual. She just walked down the street, offering her assistance to anyone who seemed to need it, for such simple tasks as helping them load their cars with groceries to helping a man with a flat tire, to even helping an old lady across the street.

While Riley offered her aid, she constantly kept her eyes peeled for the reporters that would soon learn who she was, and begin to follow her. She intended to make a very good impression, not only as a heroic and powerful warriors, but a kind and caring woman.

She knew this would definitely get to the press and she wanted to do whatever she could to boost the people's perception of magicals.

It was as she was walking that she came across a man and woman comforting a small child. This little girl looked to be their daughter. They had a dog with them that sat next to the three letting out small whimpers, obviously upset at the child's dismay. The group sat at the edge of a burned out field where once a park had been. The entire park had been consumed by flames, most likely during Millennium's opening bombardment of the city.

"Are you alright?" Riley inquired to the three, earning the parents' attention.

Both of them were dumbstruck before they could respond, mesmerized by Riley's eyes. It took them several long moments to pull their eyes away from hers and actually answer the question.

"It's our daughter. She used to love this park. We came here every weekend before the attack. We tried telling her it was gone, but she didn't understand. We had to come here and show her, but I didn't think it would be this bad." The Father explained, as the child continued to cry, saddened by the loss of a place that obviously meant a lot to her.

Riley was silent for a moment as she passed her gaze out over the barren and burned land. After a few seconds and idea struck and she glanced around looking for some aid. Her eyes fell on a small collection of police officers gathered about twenty yards away.

"Wait here for a moment, okay." Riley stated to the family as she walked over to the officers.

"Hey can I get you help?" Riley inquired to them as she approached.

The four individuals, three men and a woman, all turned to her in unison and were startled by the look of her eyes.

"What seems to be the problem?" The female officer asked first, finally pulling her gaze away from Riley's eyes.

"I need everyone to stand away from the park land. Can you order everyone off of it for a few minutes?" Riley inquired.

"Why?" One of the male officers asked.

"I'm going to rebuild it." Riley answered, turning her gaze back out to the ravaged lands.

"Rebuild it? You mean the whole park?" The female officer asked as Riley stepped away from them.

"Yep." Riley responded as she cracked her knuckle and approached the edge of the park.

The officers shared a look amongst each other but quickly did as Riley asked, calling for all those that wandered around on the burned land to step off of it.

People were slow to respond but once everyone was out of the way, Riley placed her hands together. Silence filled the air for several long moments before she slammed her palm into the dirt and released a torrent of focused magic into the land.

From the epicenter of her hand, grass exploded outward, rushing across the burned landscape, covering the area in mere moments.

Cries of amazement rushed up from the crowd as Riley directed her magic further causing tree to erupt from the ground and grow to respectable heights. Within minutes the barren land was restored to something resembling an actual park.

As an added touch, Riley used her magic to form benches out of Wood Style for people to sit in, placing them around the park. She then used earth style to churn up the ground creating stone footpaths that passed throughout the park. All of this accomplished with Riley's senses and her **Byakugan** to actually visualize the creation of this landscape.

The whole process took at most five minutes, with Riley rising to her feet and cracking her neck as she let out a content sigh. She then turned to the spectators and gestured to the land with a smile.

Cheers went up from the crowd as people voiced their pleasure at the sight. People offered her their thanks and cheered for her as they began to disperse into the park, to take in the new sight.

"Who are you?" One of the police officers asked her.

"Riley. Riley Uchiwa." Riley responded offering the man a smile before turned her gaze out to find the smiling faces of the family she'd spoken to before. The little girl was now wide eyed and amazed at the sight and was eagerly pulling her parents into the park.

Riley offered the parents a nod when they glanced in her direction which they returned with teary smiles.

Riley quickly vanished from sight, hopping up to a nearby roof.

"**That was a nice thing to do."** Kurama noted.

"_It helps get my point across that we're not the enemy. We're here to help. And on top of that… if one day I am to build a paradise, I'll need some practice in making places that people actually want to be. This seems like the perfect place to start."_ Riley replied.

"**No complaints from me. This place could use a bit more green after all it's been through. Maybe go find Hashirama and you two go on a gardening spree and give this city some of it's color back?"** Kurama suggested.

"_Great idea. I think I know what I'm doing for the rest of the day."_ Riley thought to herself, as she vanished in a flash. She would seek out her great-grandfather and spend the day rebuilding the parks and replanting any damaged trees. Doing so would help restore a bit of life to the city and fill the people with hope.

And filling them with hope, would open their minds to siding with the magical regime and giving rise to a true magical nation of the modern age.

-**London, England. August 31st 1999-**

Cheers went up from the crowd as Artoria finished her speech. Swearing safety, stability, and prosperity to the people of London. Through the hard work of the magical populace, the people closest to their actions were being won over in droves by their contributions. Magical healing, magical protection, magical reconstruction, all of it was helping people rebuild their lives.

Magicals could be found everywhere throughout the city. At construction sights they would use their magic to levitate materials that were needed up to high-rise buildings. Magical healers had taken the burden off of medical professionals, allowing people to receive the help they needed at an expeditious rate.

Aurors worked with local police in and around London to help catch criminals, the Legion worked with the military to help people feel safe and secure during this time. Everything that could be done, was being done by the magicals, and it was lifting their reputation quite quickly. Despite the unease the media was displaying.

Riley stood by Artoria's side wearing a proud smile and beaming at her soon-to-be mate. Her grandfathers stood near, as did Minister Malfoy, Itachi, and Merlin. All in all, the magicals had done well to provide a unified front to everyone.

Things were progressing smoothly though an issue had been raised just today, that Riley was now dreading. The media wanted an interview with her, and Artoria thought it was a good idea. Now Riley was going to have to speak to those vultures and most likely take the hardest questions to date. No doubt by the time that interview rolled around, some of their dirty laundry would begin to come out, and Riley was not looking forward to being the person to have to answer for some of the stupid crap people got up to.

Still, Artoria had insisted that it was for the best, so Riley agreed. No matter how much she dreaded having to endure answering to these people on live television she would endure it, if only for the sake of their plans. Slowly but surely, Britain was falling under their control.

**-To be continued-**

_**Alright there you go guys, hope everyone is still doing well, and I hope my 'essential employee' gang is staying safe out there. Things are beginning to build up, and we'll get a good look at the other nations reactions to these developments in the following chapters. Can't wait, until then.**_


	20. 20: A Demon's Reveal

_**K here's the next chapter, let's see how the world is reacting to the rise of magic, and just as a heads up this chapter is gonna be friggin huge so enjoy.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

Chapter 20: A Demon's Reveal

**-Riley's Home, London, England. September 4th 1999-**

Riley slowly backpedaled as Darren charged at her, kunai knife in hand, he stabbed at her, his moves sloppy, and painfully slow for the demoness. She caught his arm and delivered a swift strike to his chest sending him tumbling back.

A moment after he fell to his back Paxton let loose with a blast of magic, focused as a psionic blast. The energy washed over Riley, causing her clothes to flutter, but she remained unmoved. Her grandchild let out a grunt as he began to bleed from his nose and stumble back and forth. After a few seconds he too collapsed to the ground.

"Your strength is growing with each passing day. Your powers swell." Riley noted as she relaxed and both boys stared up at her, tired and thoroughly beaten for the day.

"No matter how much it swells, moving you seems to be impossible." Paxton muttered as he wiped the blood from his nose and pulled himself to his feet, the overly silent Darren following in turn.

"You aim high if your goal is to see me uprooted. You boys may yet surpass me one day, but before then you must aim for more achievable goals. Success is measured in many victories, not just one. I fought and trained every day to prove I was better than my sister. Than I trained to prove myself better than my father, than my grandfathers. You must work your way towards your goal, and the best way to keep your morale up is by setting achievable tasks along your path. If you wish to reach my level, than you will have to surpass the world. So pick someone, and start from there." Riley replied with a chuckle, earning one from Madara and Izuna, both of whom watched the training match, admiring the growing skill of the youngest additions to the family.

"Your grandmother is correct little ones. If you wish to stand among titans, you have to allow the thrill of success to fill your wings and carry you ever higher. To reach the peak of the mountain you must first ascend it's lowest ledge." Izuna agreed, earning a sigh from both the boys but they nodded in acceptance of the wisdom being offered.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" Came the curious voice of Hashirama as he approached the house from his forest.

Riley glanced at him and offered a shrug. Hashirama quickly took note of the way her chakra flowed and quickly deduced that she was a clone.

"Ah." Hashirama said with a nod.

"The real me is busy playing dress-up with my lovely ladies. They can't seem to decide what she should wear for her interview. I fear if a decision is not made soon, she'll be left to decide on her own." Riley's clone responded, earning a chuckle from Hashirama.

"Ah yes, Riley's glorious introduction to the world, in t-shirt and jeans. Quite the statement, I'm sure Artoria would approve." Hashirama noted.

"I think that's the only reason she agreed to this game of dress-up. If not for that, I'm sure the real me would have told them to piss off by now." Again Hashirama chuckled and turned his gaze toward the house.

Within the real Riley stood in a t-shirt and jeans and stared dead-eye into the mirror. She'd been looking at her own reflection for so long that her gaze now seemed to pass right through it and out into the world beyond.

Around her, four of her six mates were currently busying themselves with devising an outfit for Riley to wear. Thankfully Gaia was absent from such annoyances and Kaede offered little and instead sat on the bed with her dog, occasionally watching the scene play out while she read a book.

Riley's interview with the muggle media was tonight, and it seemed like an even more anticipated event then Draco's last. Now that people knew that magicals could take out entire cities, everyone wanted to get a look at one of these so-called 'S-ranked combatants'. And even more so, they wanted to see the woman that supposedly towered above them, as one of the few holding the title of SS-Rank.

A rank she had once held, though she was technically now a Bijuu-level threat, beyond any sort of basic classification. Now Riley was to be paraded before them to answer their questions and address their 'concerns'. A task she would have been more than fine with, if it had been of her own choosing. Unfortunately, Artoria had got her into this, and now Riley was forced to endure it with the grace and respect, required of her station.

Add onto all of the annoyances of this situation, was Riley's mates and their inability to let her choose what she was wearing. She'd been in this room for over two hours as her mates bickered and squabbled over the best outfit idea for Riley's first appearance on live television. If this kept up, it might actually be the first time in her life that Riley told her mates to get stuffed.

Honestly, it was just ridiculous, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Unfortunately, Riley's attempts to farm this off on a clone had failed miserably as the first three attempts all ended in the clone's suicide.

Of course now Daphne had leveled the charge of being a 'drama queen' against her, so Riley now had to stand here and take it, lest she prove her words true, and have to deal with that blow to her pride.

The only drama queen in the family was Naruko, Riley would not be lumped into the category, she simply refused. Honor now demanded that she stand rooted to the spot and stand almost unmoving while her mates decided her fated appearance.

Occasionally they would come up with an outfit and use their magic to transfigure Riley's cloths to match and see how they liked it. So far they hadn't agreed with anything.

Riley was hoping the time of her interview would arrive soon, and they'd be forced to choose, or the choice itself would be stripped from their control. Though a part of Riley secretly suspected that they were now far more interested in playing dress-up with Riley than actually choosing an outfit for her. This had taken far longer than it should have, which is what gave Riley the inkling.

She was half tempted to read their minds and discern the truth but she knew that if she discovered that it was true, then she'd probably be pissed off, and that wasn't the state she wanted to be in, going into this annoying interview.

She simply let out a sigh, as her clothes changed shape once more and her mates gathered around her, taking in her appearance.

Riley stared blankly at her reflection, hoping beyond hope that they'd agree and let her be done with this mess.

"I don't know, something seems off about this one." Katie noted, earning a nod from Daphne.

Riley hung her head in defeat.

A deep chuckling filled her mind, as Kurama began to laugh at her.

"_Fucking asshole fox!_" Riley grumbled.

"Maybe it's the color?" Fleur suggested.

"Hmm..." Katie wondered in response and used her wand to begin altering the colors of Riley's outfit.

"Ladies… you've got five minutes to pick something or I swear to all the gods, I will leave." Riley muttered sourly.

Her mates shared looks with each other and started giggling.

"**Hey Riley, I think they've been tooling with you this whole time."** Kurama mused with another chuckle.

"Seven fucking hells..." Riley growled out. She decided she was done at that point, stepping away from the mirror she marched over to her bed and fell face-first onto it. She didn't know what she had done to earn this skin-peeling torture, but she was no longer going to endure it.

"Are you alright Riley?" Kaede inquired, peeking over her book at her.

"No, my mates are jackals. You're the only good one, Kaede." Riley muttered into the bed, her response earned scores of laughter from her mates, who had obviously been purposefully driving Riley crazy for the last few hours.

"Oh come on Riley, we were just having some fun. You do it all the time." Katie replied as the ladies came over and gathered around Riley.

"I'm not even mad that you did it, I'm mad that I've been standing here for hours suspecting that you were doing it, and I could've freed myself from this bullshit, if I'd just said something." Riley responded, now thoroughly upset and annoyed.

Again this earned laughter from her mates, Katie and Luna quickly pulled Riley back onto her feet, while Riley just stared off, dead eyed and depressed.

"Oh do not be like zat Riley. We already chose somezing for you, let us get you changed, and then we can go have dinner, before you leave." Fleur offered, earning a nod from Riley.

A few hours later and Riley headed out, intent on getting this over and done with.

"_You zink zey will take it well_?" Schrödinger inquired, appearing in Riley's mindscape as she made her way into town.

"_Humans are strange creatures. They fear change, yet hold the unknown in wonderment. They'll hold faith in something they have no proof of, yet get offended by facts. In all honesty I expect them to be afraid. I expect them to ask their questions and be repulsed by the answers. The truth is a painful thing, and life is a helluva thing to happen to a person. What I say and do in front of those cameras is going to finally shatter their grasp on what is possible, and what is not."_ Riley replied earning a playful yet mischievous chuckle from her newly discovered son.

"_Well at least have fun. You only get to do zis once." Schrödinger_ offered with a giggle before his presence vanished.

"_You ready for this furball?" _Riley inquired to Kurama.

"**Time for our fifteen minutes of fame. Enjoy the spotlight while it lasts, from this day forward you're now a player in the game. Today is the day the world looks upon the new goddess of this little dirtball. Make sure it's a day they never forget."** Kurama responded, earning a smirk from Riley, as she vanished into **Kamui**.

**-London-**

The panel of interviewers would be mostly the same with five people this time, including the biologist Hugh, and the economist Julia. David had been replaced by a man who was a high up member of the British armed forces. A colonel from the army named Chester Hill. This man was one of the few who had been quite vocal about the apparent takeover, occurring by the magical world, and had openly expressed that he believed that the military was perhaps working too closely with the magical world who's motivations and loyalties weren't fully understood as of yet.

Aside from him, one more addition was added and this was a physicist by the name of Francis, who had long history of published works and theories on the world and the universe and the way things were supposed to work.

An economist, a biologist, a military man, and a physicist, on top of the news anchor, Oliver.

This would most certainly be interesting.

Riley herself had been introduced to the lot soon after she arrived. Most people had difficulty looking past her eyes. While Riley kept almost all of her demonic features hidden, and looked normal for the most part, her **Rinne Sharingan** remained present for everyone to see.

While Riley did her best to avoid seeming temperamental, it did annoy her a bit that people seemed to be walking on eggshells around her. While most people assumed her supposed power was an exaggeration of sorts, that didn't change the fact that they were still nervous around her, and the sight of her eyes and her general aura, made them feel tiny, like insects scrambling at the foot of a giant.

This led to people being uneasy around her, which Riley found annoying. It gave her the impression that everyone thought she was a ticking time bomb, which is the exact reputation all Jinchuriki had, which Riley found to be incredibly disheartening as they didn't even know she was one, and yet they still treated her like that.

At the very least, she hoped that at the end of this interview, they would be to nervous to ever want her back on again. She'd answer their questions maybe give them a bit of a display, but she certainly didn't care to impress them. She was here for Artoria, and their plans, nothing more.

When Riley was led out to sit with the panelists she had to do her best to ignore the looks that the recording crew were giving her as they took note of her eyes, and the intensity given off by them.

Soon the program began, though unlike with Draco, they were quick to introduce her and start their questioning, removing any ambiguity that this was some sort of discussion on recent events, and instead going at it, from the stand point that this was an interview, time for question and answer.

"Allow me to introduce our magical guest tonight, this is lady Riley Uchiwa, Ms Uchiwa, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?" Oliver began.

"What would you like to know?" Riley inquired in response.

"Well we've heard a bit about you on this program. A few very interesting tidbits, why don't you tell us a few things about yourself, family, the place you grew up, things like that." Oliver clarified.

"Okay. I was born in the Elemental Nations in the Land of Fire. My exact place of birth was Konohagakure No Sato. The Village Hidden in the Leaves. I have a younger twin sister, and spent the majority of my early life learning magic. When I was eight, I left my home village with a family friend and journeyed throughout Europe for several years. During that time I became a Chuunin rank Ronin of the Land of Fire, and eventually became a Jonin. I spent most of my time exploring, practicing magic, and hunting down criminals in my spare time. When I was eleven I immigrated to England and was accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I spent the majority of my time in school, up until our country went to war against Iwagakure and Otogakure. I helped to found the Cysgodol Legion, and I fought in the war. After the war was over I returned and finished up my final year of school, graduating when I was eighteen. Since then I've worked as an adviser to the Cysgodol Legion, aiding Lord-Commander Itachi Uchiha in building up the force, keeping them organized and well-trained. My father was the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, Minato Namikaze. My mother is Kushina Uzumaki. I am the granddaughter of Madara Uchiwa, and Kaguya Uzumaki, and the great-granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, the Leaf's First Hokage. I am twice married, I live in a modest home here in London, I have more last names than I can bare to listen to every time I'm introduced, and I spend most of my time training, developing new magical abilities, and aiding my friends it whatever pet projects they're currently working on. Enough to start?" Riley listed off some basic facts about her life, giving them all something to latch onto.

"You also participated in this Fourth Great Shinobi War when you were a teenager?" Francis inquired.

"Yeah, more or less. By the time the war began I had already spent several years training in my own personal pocket dimension at an accelerated rate, so I'm a lot older than that, but I've long since stopped counting the years, and I just go by when I was born." Riley answered, earning dumbstruck looks from all those present.

"Your own pocket dimension?" Francis reiterated, leaning forward in his chair and giving her a look of disbelief.

"Yep." Riley answered, activating **Kamui**, and disappearing from sight. Gasps of shock and dumbfounded amazement filled the studio as the entire panel shot to their feet, staring at where she'd been with utter disbelief.

A few moments later, Riley reappeared in her seat, and gave the physicist a smirk.

"What was that?" Oliver asked as he slowly sat back down.

"I have a unique ability that allows me to enter my own pocket dimension. It's a dimensional space where I control the aspects of it. It's a four dimensional realm, where I can alter, change, accelerate, or even restrict all of it's aspects. As such I generally use it for storage, and to train in, since I can alter the flow of time. A few hours out here in our world could be days, weeks, sometimes even months, within my pocket dimension. It's all controlled by my will, though it's ties to the physical world mean that it generally wants to act like our world, so when I'm not actively changing it, it behaves like the real world, time flows normally, physics act as they would out here. So on and so on." Riley explained, earning a very slow and amazed nod from the physicist while everyone else just stared on in utter bewilderment.

"So how old would you say you are?" Julia inquired.

"Like maybe around two hundred, give or take a decade or two." Riley replied, truthfully not really remembering. With a bit of thought she could probably get it down to the exact month, but she didn't overly care since she didn't age so even measuring her life span in years, was now getting redundant. Sooner or later, it would become centuries, and then millennia. As was the way of immortal beings to whom time itself mattered little.

"Two hundred. I must say you look good for being nearly two hundred years old." Hugh the Biologist stated after a few moments to recover his thoughts.

"Well I cheat. I'm biologically immortal, though magicals do live a lot longer than non-magicals. On average a typical magical will live to be around one-hundred-and-twenty or so. While some of the stronger magicals will live even longer, possibly making it to one-hundred-and-eighty. Our medicines and magical abilities allow us to live a lot longer. I am special due to my bloodline abilities and no longer age, so I can get away with spending eight months a week training in my own pocket dimension, without feeling the effects of it. It's not something everyone can do, but there are some magicals with crazy long life spans." Riley explained to them.

"So you'll live forever is what you're saying?" Oliver questioned before Hugh could.

"No, not forever. There is no forever, eventually something will take me out. Could be in ten years, could be long after the world dies of old age, but it'll happen when it happens. Until then, I'll keep on going." Riley responded, trying not to smirk at the amazed looks she was getting. Whatever plots they were planning, this had momentarily thrown them off track. To learn that not only was Riley powerful, but also basically immortal, was astounding to say the least.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to learn about that today, but I guess I should have been ready for it." Chester noted, earning a chuckle from some of the other panelists whom were in agreement.

"There are many strange and unusual abilities in the world. Being biologically immortal isn't nearly the weirdest thing I've seen." Riley assured them.

"There are weirder things then being immortal and having your own pocket dimension that you can just teleport into on a whim?" Julia inquired.

"Some people have added functioning limbs. Some people have hybridized DNA, mixed with animals. Some people have unique abilities that allow them to rapidly grow bone, or transfer their souls into other bodies, or grow to the size of giants, or even call upon forces beyond our world to aid them in their endeavors. Magic is the primal force of all existence. The reality we follow in this life, only exists because no greater force has come along to rewrite the rules. Magic is that greater force, and can easily turn what is real, into something else entirely. Magic is the force that generated our existence, from the universe we inhabit, to the flesh of our bodies, and at any moment that power can be used to alter these things, if you have the means and the know-how to control it." Riley responded letting out a wistful sigh as she leaned forward in her chair.

"So what rules of reality are bent by magic in today's day and age? What do we as a society believe is true, but it's actually false?" Francis inquired, leaning forward and eyeing her with great curiosity. He had a pen and notepad at the ready, and had already taken down some of what she'd said, along with his thoughts. He intended to share everything he'd learned, suspected, hypothesized, and theorized with his colleagues at the university where he worked, as well as with his students. This reveal of magic was an age of discovery not seen in the world before, and he, like many others, wished to dive headfirst into this endless expanse to see what could be found.

Riley sensed all of this within the man, and enjoyed his boundless curiosity. He was a man of logical pursuit and she enjoyed that. If nothing else, while the others were a bit nervous or unsure with her, this man was definitely someone worth talking to, if for no greater reason than he would carry her words to the minds of his students and fill their heads with all sorts of ideas. An age of learning was what Riley wanted for the world, during the rise of magic. She knew there would be fear, and anger, distrust and uncertainty, but if it were possible for at least some people to put those things aside and embrace this age of wonder, then perhaps there was hope for a better world at the end of the day.

"Well professor, I guess the best place for all of us to start is by accepting that our universe operates under a set of rules." Riley began, earning the full attention of those around her.

This would be something like a two-hour interview so Riley was free to just talk about anything really, so long as the people found it interesting, and discussing magic was a far more comfortable topic than her personal life.

"These rules are what we prescribe as reality. The world works this way, because it's the way of nature. A happens because of B, C because of D, D because of E. Magic exists outside of these constraints. From magic, all things spawned, the universe, life, death, space, time, people, planets, everything came from magic in some capacity. It is the primal force of existence, the force of pure creation and destruction. There are two types of entities that exist in all of creation. There are those that have magic, and those that 'are' magic. Despite being called magicals, and non-magicals, everyone and everything, has magic in it, to some degree. It could be different amounts, it could be different forms, but magic exists in everything and everywhere. There are times when 'clumps' of raw magic coalesce and develop a will of their own. These pure magical beings are what we would call spirits, gods, demons, angels, they are primordial beings that are power given thought, and exist outside of the boundaries of reality." Riley explained, taking great pride in the dead silence of her observers as they hung off her every word.

"These beings, exist in line with magic, are thus unbound to, or unconstrained by, reality. Understanding these things will help you wrap your mind around the situation. We're dealing with a primordial power that either by the will of some creator, or by sheer dumb luck, birthed our universe, and we exist, tied to that great power, and constrained by the natural order established in the creation of our universe. It isn't just the four dimensional plain we inhabit, it's the idea that this universe has rules, either because something made it so, or by accident, but those rules only constrain those that don't have the power to break them. With enough magic, anything is possible. Anything." Riley concluded her opening point, making sure they all had the same starting point before she continued.

"Now to actually answer your earlier question. You believe the speed of light is the fastest anything can move, that is false. There's one ability I know of that can allow a person to move between two locations at astronomical speeds. This movement is instantaneous, allowing someone to go from any one place, to any other place, and this movement occurs instantly as the two points are folded together. Those are some of the ways to work around the Speed of Light limitation, but in their use lies the true secret, as the impulse of magic, meant to activate the folding of space time occurs from both ends simultaneously, meaning that the user is able to affect two vastly different locations at the same moment, regardless of distance. This would indicate to us that magic itself is moving faster than light, as it's traveling from the user, to the location he wants to go, and folding the space together, in the moment of the technique's activation. Also I've on occasion moved faster than the speed of light, during my training. It's kinda trippy." Riley offered as an example.

"You've moved faster than light before?" Oliver inquired while Francis was busily scrawling down notes.

"Only in my training, I haven't come across a foe yet that is fast enough to keep up with such speeds." Riley admitted, taking pleasure in the boast.

While she had been speaking the truth about never moving that fast outside of **Kamui**, it wasn't just for the reasons stated. It also had a lot to do with not knowing what would happen out in the world, if she started moving faster than light. Such speeds caused strange spacial anomalies around Riley, and if it weren't for her special eyes, she'd easily be temporarily blinded while moving that fast. Riley suspected someone at least needed the **Byakugan** or **Sharingan**, to move at such speeds and still be able to see anything at all. Also a problem with moving that fast, is you were no longer just affecting the world, you were breaking the laws of reality which did some strange things to the world around such events.

Normally when a shinobi started moving faster than the speed of sound, they would activate an ancient, and widely known ability that would 'allow them to move through the air, like water'. Or in essence, they would glide through the air, seemingly without affecting it. This ability was often used in combat, and it's what allowed things like the **Substitution** or **Body Flicker Technique** to work, without causing a sonic boom.

This technique had been developed a long time ago, and was so common nowadays that most shinobi had no idea what they were actually doing when using it. All they knew was that it made them able to pass through the air without disturbing it at high speeds. This technique was a sort of vibration ability that allowed a person to pass through the air like they were intangible. In essence, this ability allowed a person to pass through the air, without pushing aside air molecules, thus preventing a wind rush or sonic boom.

It was actually extremely sophisticated, but had become so common place of an ability, even such that it was taught to academy students and refined to the point that it was almost done without a thought, that most shinobi didn't even realize they were becoming partially intangible when they used it.

Of course there was no such ability for when you moved faster than light. At that point, you'd just broken past a fundamental rule of the reality they inhabited, and that did some weird things. There was also the little caveat that if Riley ever forgot to active that ability while moving at speeds that fast, that the wind rush created by her movement would basically destroy all life on the planet. It was something she was conscious of, so she was unlikely to forget, but that was one of those minor slip-ups that might just doom the human race, so she stuck with moving at more realistic speeds, six hundred-thousand miles an hour was one thing, moving at over six-hundred-and-seventy million miles an hour, was another.

"How do you avoid the increase in mass as you approach such speeds?" The physicist inquired, knowing full well that her answer was about to completely change how scientists around the world, viewed such limitations.

"That particular law doesn't apply to my movements. When I'm moving at those speeds, I'm not just running very fast. I'm accelerating myself using magic. The easiest way to understand it, is that I'm an object that doesn't follow those rules. My mass doesn't go up, the faster I move, because I'm using magic to accelerate myself, not just my own strength. Many powerful magicals do the same thing, they can push themselves to mind numbing speeds, without increasing their mass to unfathomable levels. The answer as to why it doesn't happen is because we're using magic. The fuel we burn to move at those speeds, isn't bound to reality's rules. Use magic to accelerate, and your mass doesn't go up. If you built a spaceship, that had the ability to use magic as it's propulsion system, you could accelerate it to and beyond the speed of light, without encountering those barriers, because magic doesn't play by those rules. It doesn't play by any rules. The universe we inhabit tries to enforce rules upon us, but with enough magic, and control, anything is possible." Riley answered, earning a look of astonishment from the those around her as Francis let out a chuckle and quickly jotted down a few more notes in his little booklet.

"What other fundamental laws of the universe, has the magical world, casually spat in the face of?" Oliver inquired curiously.

"Well, I would like to point out that moving faster than light, is nowhere near a common ability. In fact I only know of a handful of people who can actually surpass the speed, and most of them cheat. Only one person I know can probably run faster than light, but I've never seen him do it, and I don't think even he knows that he can." Riley began.

Her mind turning towards the famed green beast, Might Guy. He was incredibly fast, and Riley had faced him in training matches where he pushed himself to the seventh inner gate, and moved at speeds even Riley had difficulty following. While her eyes could perceive his movements, she hadn't trained her body to react to such speeds, which had allowed him to beat her in their taijutsu match. After seeing such speeds at the seventh gate, Riley suspected he could reach or even surpass the speed of light, at the eighth gate, but of course such a use of power would be temporary as opening the eighth gate would kill him. Still Riley hoped to one day see it, knowing full well she could just bring him back to life afterwards, but she definitely wanted to see just how strong the man was at full power.

"But aside from that, we've got things like the ability to manipulate a person's genetic makeup, we've got abilities to travel vast distances in a short time, we can manipulate space-time, we can alter the composition of matter, we can do all sorts of things with magic. As I said before, all that's required is know-how and the right amount of magic to make a thing happen. If you have both you can do anything." Riley explained.

"You can alter a person's genetics? In what way?" Hugh inquired.

"There's such a thing as a blood adoption, which is a magical ritual that would allow you to alter a child's genetics, giving it some your own. For instance if I came upon an orphaned child, parents were dead and he had no other family to speak of, I could regular adopt him, magically adopt him, or even blood adopt him. Regular adoptions work basically the same as they do for you all. A magical adoption is the same except it also involves a minor ritual that will tie the child into the family's magic, making them a recipient of all of it's benefits and allowing their children to carry on with the family magics. A blood adoption takes it a step further, and not only grants the child your family magic, but also alters a portion of the child's genetics, depending on the ritual depends on the amount. It could be just a bit, it could be replacing one of their biological parents. And of course, the child's body would alter to reflect the change in genetics. They would take on the appearance provided by their new parent. I myself am a result of such a process. I technically have two maternal donors. My true biological mother is Kushina Uzumaki, though I was blood adopted by Lily Namikaze nee Evans. So if you were to look at my dna you'd find that I have two mothers, and one father." Riley answered, this time the biologist was the one busily scribbling down notes.

"So it's that easy to just alter a person's dna?" Julia inquired.

"Well it's not easy, it always requires some sort of magical ritual, far more complex then just a wave of the wand. But it's common enough in the world that it happens regularly and without issue." Riley responded.

"And there are other 'rituals' like how you mentioned earlier people having animal dna?" Hugh questioned.

"Yeah. Not as scandalous as someone sleeping with a horse or anything as dark at that. Chimera rituals are rare, dangerous, and not exactly the kind of thing one practices in high society. It can go very wrong, but in some cases it can go very right if you know what you're doing. I know of families that have bonded with certain animal species taking on their traits and allowing them to take some of ours. For instance a clan of specialized dog trainers, bonded their dna with that of dogs, giving them heightened reflexes, senses, and some animalistic traits. They also bonded human dna with their dogs, giving the dog's heightened intelligence, problem solving, and even allowing these dogs to talk like humans can. It was common enough in practice, this special technique, that this family was willing to provide their special ninken to those they trusted for raising. One of my close friends, is a well known dog trainer, and raised a pack of highly skilled hunting dogs, who are all very intelligent and can speak just like you or I can. This process is actually the basis for a lot of special species in the word. Many of them have their origins outside of just the human race." Riley explained to the amazement of those listening.

They all silently pondered the idea of being able to almost casually bond a person's dna with that of an animal, and if you do it right, you could gain enhanced abilities, or senses, beyond that of a normal human.

"Is there any sort of ethical constraint on such a practice? Do you have any sort of laws that prohibit or limit what a person generally does with their magic to stop people from doing things that are 'unnatural'." Chester inquired.

"Ethical constraints are minimum, so long as you aren't experimenting on someone against their will, you can pretty much try anything, and if you get your cooperation in writing and notarized, there's hardly any legal trouble a person can get into for trying something new. Beyond that, there are limits put in place to stop people from practicing taboo forms of magic. Things that are wholly malevolent and cannot be used for any sort of productive means outside of harm." Riley answered, knowing full well this man was going to take every chance he could to challenge her and the magical world.

"Magic is capable of anything, given the will to figure out how. We've truly entered into a new age of discovery. By taking all of the questions that the non-magical world has come up with, and applying an understanding of magic to them, who knows how many answers we'll come up with." Riley offered up after a moment of silence, deciding to continue on before conversations continued into the realm of dark or forbidden magics.

"Would these strange modifications be the reason why your eyes are like that?" Hugh inquired.

"These eyes are a special bloodline ability of my family. The appearance of the eyes, acts like an indicator, telling whether or not the ability is active. When I was younger I had blue eyes, though after some training, I got to the point where I can now keep these eyes active all the time. They've become my normal eyes now." Riley explained/lied. She wasn't about to tell them what her eyes could do, and she'd done her best to keep from revealing any secrets about people or names, to help identify them. Certain things that were common knowledge to anyone who opened the bingo book was one thing, but she wasn't about to go explaining to the world about the various clans, their abilities, and what they could do.

"So let me ask you something? We've all heard about the supposed S-Ranked magical beings that have enough power to destroy entire cities and do unimaginable things, what's your take on that? We've heard that you're considered one of the strongest magicals in the world, is that true?" Oliver asked.

"Am I the strongest? I try to be, but that isn't a question that has any sort of definite answer. I can be confident in my comparison to others, but I'll still continue training and growing stronger. I never intend to get complacent, there are forces in this universe far beyond the scope of what we can imagine, strange and terrifying things that people as a whole couldn't possibly comprehend at this juncture. So I'll continue to grow stronger and always strive to be the best, whether I am or not, is inconsequential to that plan. As for my take on S-ranked individuals, yes they do exist, yes their powers are a thing to be feared, and some of them do have incredible destructive abilities, though many of them are more widely renowned for specific abilities that have garnered them great respect amongst their fellow magicals. As an example, Albus Dumbledore, a great man of significant renown was considered S-Rank. He was the headmaster of our premiere school Hogwarts, and devoted his life to teaching the youth of our nation. His status as S-Rank came from his incredibly long life at well over a hundred years old, as well as his immense knowledge in the field of almost every magical art you can think of. He was a genius and a great man, but he definitely didn't have the ability to wipe out an entire city, just by waving a wand or weaving a few handsigns. People with such powers do exist, but they are the exception, not the norm." Riley explained to them, letting out a sigh as she did.

"But what about these exceptions? What precautions are put in place to make sure they don't cause trouble? What is done to keep them under control?" Oliver pressed, eager to hear her answer on this question.

"That's a dangerous way of thinking, comparing these people to weapons." Riley noted, a dark smirk spreading across her face that caused every member of the panel to shift in surprise and unease.

"I didn't mean to insinuate. But surely such powerful individuals are kept in check through some means? I mean as the saying goes, 'power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely'." Oliver responded in a placating manner.

"Again, a dangerous way of looking at things. S-Ranked individuals are often loners, often anti-social. They carry demons with them, dark and terrible baggage that normal people would be unable to carry on with. Some of the strongest people I know have endured pain like you couldn't believe. They've watched friends die, they've lost family members, they've seen and experienced war on a level you couldn't possibly imagine! These people have seen and lived through hell, and where as most people, like you, would collapse under the pressure, these individuals keep pressing forward. They keep fighting, they keep advancing, they don't give up, despite the horror they've endured. You think a funeral is a bad day? Try watching your best friend get torn to pieces right before your eyes at the age of twelve. Try fighting for your life against full grown adults with years of experience who will kill you, if you're very lucky. And if you aren't if they catch you, they'll torture you, violate you, forcibly convert you to their side, use you for experimentation, or even use you as bait to murder more of your friends, or comrades. Those that achieve the title of S-Rank, have suffered more than any other human, they've endured pain that drives normal people insane. You ask what keeps them balanced, what keeps them from hurting others? The answer is that its because they've seen some awful things, and done awful things, and they'd rather not spend every waking moment engaged in those awful things. People who've reached that level of power are often the last who want to use it, because they've endured the hell that gave them that power, that allowed them to reach those heights. I'd ask that you never make such insinuation about people like that again, especially in my presence. I hold all warriors to great esteem, and only a warrior has any right to judge another. Until you've taken a life in the name of some cause, whether it be survival, patriotism, or duty, you don't get to ask those questions of those that do." Riley responded, growing frustrated at the reporter's insinuation that the strongest of magicals needed to be controlled.

He simply wasn't getting it, none of them were. They saw such warriors as weapons, with powers like that, what else could they see? They were blind, ignorant, and Riley hadn't the patience to entertain such ridiculous notions.

Say what you will of the Elemental Nations, at least there people already knew this. They knew that shinobi who reached the level of A-Rank, S-Rank, and even Kage level, were people who'd endured some truly awful shit.

Sure the masses would sing and cheer for their heroes, not knowing the true depth of despair most of them had fallen to in order to pull themselves up to that level. A person had to have a crazy level of drive to make it to A-Rank, and to get to S-Rank, a person had to go even further then that. Almost to the point of self-destructive madness. Riley was strong because she trained every single day. She was born gifted, this was true, but her true power came from the fact that most of her life was spent doing nothing but honing her skills. There were demons that Riley carried with her, terrible things she'd done, and while she had no regrets about those things, it didn't make them less terrible. That person wasn't who she wanted around those she loved most. She didn't want the killer, the monster, the demon, or the warrior, to be who her beloved friends, family, and mates, had to deal with all the time, she just wanted to be Riley. Friendly, playful, snarky, energetic Riley. But that was hard, it was hard to do, because it wasn't who she really was. That was only a part of her, only a fragment of the whole. Riley embraced who she was, but that didn't mean she liked having that person around those she still considered innocent.

These people didn't get that, they didn't understand what having true power meant. Their soldiers were the only ones who came even close to getting it. It upset her, and it touched at a nerve because they didn't even know about Jinchuriki yet. If this was how they reacted to S-Ranked magicals, then they were in for a helluva surprise when they learned about the demons that could destroy entire continents, and the humans who acted as jail cells for them.

"I apologize if I offended you, it wasn't my intent to make an opinion for or against such things, I just assumed given their abilities your people would have placed some restrictions in place to try and keep things from getting out of hand." Oliver offered, in an attempt to placate her. It was almost like there was electricity in the air, Riley's souring mood had seemingly caused the room to darken a bit, like the lights had been dimmed slightly.

"The armies of other warriors are what deals with people who go too far. People like me, stop people like that. And others would try and stop me, if I went off the deep end." Riley stated, sighing as she did.

"From what your friend said, you are supposedly one of the strongest magicals around. How would someone go about stopping you if you did go crazy? Is there anyone who could?" Chester inquired curiously.

"Someone would find a way. One day. I can't name him or her. I doubt I know them. There's someone out there carrying a blade, or a bullet with my name on it, as the analogy goes. The trick to survival is avoiding this person for as long as you can. Avoiding conflict is a good way to avoid this person. So logic would dictate that I should choose not to pick a fight with the entire world. Someone would stop me. That's all that matters in the end, that's what lets the paranoid people of the world sleep at night. For every great magical warrior, for every threat, they have all met their end at the hands of someone better, or someone who just had the right gifts to help them succeed. Magic has a way of making the seemingly impossible, possible. So I wouldn't worry myself about it. Your chances of dying don't go up now that you know the truth unless you choose to make it so. These people have always existed, and they always will. Unlike nukes, or chemical weapons, S-Ranked magicals have been around for thousands of years. 'We' have proven that we can exist without destroying the world. 'You' as in non-magicals just got out of a decades long standoff where you held nukes to each others heads. Thousands of years of human expansion and survival, compared to the last sixty years, I'd argue that we're not the ones who are the danger here." Riley answered, earning a shifting unease from those across from her. The only one who didn't shift was Chester. His eyes remained locked onto her, analyzing her, reading her every movement and facial expression.

"She's absolutely correct in that regard. The task of surviving the atomic age, is something that humans have yet to succeed in. We can only hope that saner minds will always prevail and we avoid a global catastrophe." Francis noted, nodding in agreement with her point.

The others couldn't find fault in her logic there. The Cold War had only recently ended less than a decade ago, and to many it seemed like the fear of nuclear annihilation was still an extremely prevalent worry.

Riley could sense their unease at being called out like that. No one could argue that it was the non-magicals that had spent the last few decades terrified of nuclear annihilation, meanwhile magical individuals with as much power as a nuke, had been around since before the rise of the Roman Empire or Alexander the Great.

"That is a good point, but again I would like to emphasize something here. Isn't it true that you almost single handedly wiped out an army of nearly four thousand shinobi while you were only fifteen years old?" Chester asked, causing everyone to stare blankly at him for a moment before turning looks towards her. The stories that she hunted down criminals at eleven was one thing, but killing four thousand people by yourself? That was on a whole other level of insanity.

"I assume you're referring to Iwagakure's attack on Hogwarts. I detected the attack, and improvised a solution that the enemy never saw coming. They tried to sneak up on us, by passing through a large man-made maze, I filled the maze with explosives, and blew it to hell, killing their army. I also killed the Tsuchikage a few moments later. Technically that was the opening move of the Fourth Shinobi War, but because of what I did, the conflict actually stalled for a few years before it began in earnest." Riley responded, not at all troubled, or even weary about explaining herself.

"And you killed four thousand people?" Julia reiterated.

"That was roughly the size of the enemy force, yes." Riley replied.

"What about during the war, where you personally led a detachment of the Cysgodol Legion, our army wiped out thirty thousand men in a single night, without suffering any casualties? Or what about the attack on the Wind Capital where you killed another Tsuchikage and reportedly wiped out the entire invading army, again nearly single handedly? People in the ICW claim that you're personally responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people in the war, people you killed with your own hands, that's more than some recent conflicts." Chester noted, doing his best to insinuate, without outright saying it, that there was a lot of blood on her hands.

"That's the whole point of someone like me. You don't earn the SS-Rank, by just being a pretty face. My father, the Fourth Hokage, was given the monikor of the Yellow Flash, because that was the last thing anyone saw of the bastard before they died. He was the first shinobi in history to ever be given a flee-on-sight order, for everyone not of Kage rank. He earned that level of fear by killing one thousand enemy combatants in the blink of an eye. Wiped out an entire battalion of enemy shinobi, and he was just barely into his twenties when he did it. His actions ended the Third Shinobi World War. SS-Rank, holds a very significant meaning and it isn't a rank given out lightly." Riley responded, shaking her head and letting out a dark chuckle.

"You said that someone would stop you if you ever went bad, I ask again, who could possibly manage it, when you've done things like this?" Chester pressed again, pinning her with a hard look.

"I try to be the best, like I said. But I'm not so arrogant to believe that no one could ever stop me. It was a way of comforting you, by saying that someone would rise up to the challenge. In truth I welcome the attempt, I was raised on fighting, and truthfully I love it! I would fight all day if I could. Most of my two hundred years of life has been spent in a closed off space doing nothing but training and fighting, and refining my abilities. I told you that so you could sleep better at night, but honestly, I don't put much stock into someone reaching my level, I always prepare for when it happens, but I'm also not going to deny the fact that I am one of the best and wont be beaten so easily. You're saving grace is that I have people in this country that I care for, it's because of them that I will lay down my life for Britain, simply to make their lives safer, I'll fight for this country that has become my home. So long as I have them, I have a reason to be good and not become a monster. But believing in the power of love, doesn't make paranoid people feel any better, so let's just stick with the possibility of someone stopping me, and agree it makes us both feel better." Riley responded, her tone rather dark, as the man's insinuations began to annoy her.

"Is it true that before you took down the army at that attacked Hogwarts, you captured and tortured and enemy combatant for information?" Chester asked.

"Yep. He tried to kidnap me, I trapped him in an illusion and used some rather creative means of inflicting pain to gather information on who he was, what he wanted, why he was here, who was with him, so on, and so on. I then used that information to save an entire school of people from an invading army, so I think it was worth a few moments of mental anguish for the poor bastard." Riley hummed in reply, letting out a chuckle as she recalled having this same argument with Madam Bones.

"Do you realize that torture has been outlawed in the United Kingdom for over two hundred years?" Chester asked, again trying to paint her in a negative light and again earning a chuckle from her.

"Magical Britain isn't bound by the same laws as you are, and the ICW only frowns on the use of torture or interrogation, it isn't illegal. I've had this argument before with other self-righteous types who thought they knew better. I've ended enough human life to know that it's a numbers game. Kill one, save a thousand, that's how it works. Getting information out of that man as quickly as I did, allowed me to save an entire school of children and international guests. I find it insulting to our own citizens that you would spend even a single moment arguing for the man who would have kidnapped, or murdered, anyone who got in his way. I have a very clear understanding of my moral position, do you?" Riley asked in reply. Her gaze cool and her voice carrying a dark edge to it that unnerve those around her.

"Some may call your actions monstrous..." Chester began but Riley cut him off.

"And some may call yours hypocritical. The only difference between us, Colonel, is that you hide behind an air of civility. You and the rest of the non-magical world put all of these rules and laws in place for when you go to war. The magical world has tried to emulate you in some respects, trying to outlaw certain ways you can kill a man. You try to make war more civil and less horrible, and all you end up doing in encouraging it. If war is no longer horrible, what's stopping people from doing it all the time? You don't think I don't know every terrible thing 'you've' ever done? You don't think I don't know every single dirty little secret our military has? _You don't think I've spent countless hours planning on how I'd deal with you if you decided to get in my way? I'm a warrior, I fight. Be thankful I fight for you, __because that could change at a moments notice. Press me again… please..."_ Riley finished her counter by speaking directly into the man's head. His eyes went wide, and his jaw fell open as the last part of her monologue carried out within his own mind, yet it was clearly her voice.

"Yo-you make a fair point, let me ask you this than, what's a Jinchuriki?" Chester asked tentatively. He wasn't giving up just yet, but he was obviously shaken by what had happened.

"It means 'the power of a human sacrifice'. Jinchuriki are human vessels that contain powerful magical forces. The most famous of Jinchuriki contain the Bijuu, the Tailed Beasts." Riley answered, her gaze filling with a dark aura as she stared at the military man.

"What are these Tailed Beasts?" Oliver inquired, carrying on the line of questioning, as Chester began to pale.

"Ten fragments of the corrupted Tree of Life. The entity that brought magic into our world. Short summary, a long time ago, a being arrived on our planet, it took the form of a massive tree. This entity was the Shinju, some religions call it the Tree of Life, or the Tree of Creation. It was a real thing, and it is what filled our planet with magic. At some point it's will became corrupted, and the tree turned into a demon, known only as the Ten-Tails. Three thousand years ago, this demon did battle with two great men. Hagoromo and Hamura Ootsutsuki. They fought it, they beat it, and Hagoromo sealed it's power into his body, becoming a Jinchuriki, and arguably the most famous. Some even say he was the first in our world, but who can say for certain. Fast forward some time and Hagoromo grows old and is about to die of old age. He fears the return of the Ten-Tails, so he splits it's power into ten fragments, these fragments are the Tailed Beasts. Ten demons, bound by his will to protect the world from any sort of external threat. In a manner of speaking these demons are guardians of our world, as they are bound by the Sage's will. They come in the form of various beasts, and number in tails, starting from the Zero-Tails and going all the way up to the Nine-Tails. In recent years, the process of creating Jinchuriki has become a lot easier, so most of the Elemental Nations have contained the Tailed Beasts inside of human vessels, these vessels are called Jinchuriki. The Akatsuki, an organization of S-Ranked criminals, attempted to use the Fourth Great Shinobi War, as a cover to capture nine of the ten tailed beasts, in order to reunify their power and recreate the Ten-Tails. They were partially successful and brought the beast back, I along with a few others, defeated it, and sealed it away. It was responsible for the events seen in eastern Asia a few years back, as well as the chaotic storms that plagued the world on the very day." Riley explained to them, and the viewing audience, leaving a few parts out, like Kaguya's involvement for example.

"And these demons are sealed in people? And demons themselves are real?" Oliver inquired, sharing a glance with one of his producers off screen who motioned for him to keep going.

"Yes and yes. Demons are metaphysical beings composed of pure magic, essentially magic given will, just like gods, and spirits, and angels." Riley replied.

"How powerful are these things?" Julia questioned.

"The Tailed Beasts had their power separated by certain levels, with the Zero and One-Tails having the least amount of raw power, and the Nine-Tails having the most. The order of power goes something like, one, one, two, six, twenty-four, one-hundred-and-twenty, so on, and so on, until you get to the Nine-Tails. That was how the Sage split their power up. The less power the greater the control, the more power the less control it has. The two with the least power, still have more magic in them than any human that has ever lived by a massive margin. Not even the strongest of humanity has come close to the level of raw power in a Tailed Beast." Riley answered, earning dumbfounded looks from all of them.

"The ICW, the International Confederation of Wizards, kind of your version of the UN, they keep these Tailed Beasts under observation, don't they?" Chester inquired, finding his voice again. Riley nodded, and kept herself from appearing upset again. Most likely this man had used him military connections to dig up information his higher-ups had already learned or had known for a while.

"Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts are classified as Weapons of Mass Destruction by the ICW. Their location must be reported anywhere outside of the Elemental Nations, and any country in possession of them, must report that as well." Riley answered with a sigh, earning very curious looks from those questioning her. The idea that S-Ranked magicals were just allowed to wander free, and yet these Jinchuriki were the ones under observation, the power difference must be unlike anything they could imagine if that were the case.

"Does the ICW know where these things are, right now?" Julia asked.

"Yes. The Zero-Tails roams freely, often appearing during times of conflict and has no Jinchuriki. The One-Tails is contained within the Kazekage of Sunagakure, the military power of our ally, in the Land of Wind in the Elemental Nations. The Two-Tails is contained within a Kumo kunuoichi in the Land of Lightning, another of our allies. The Three-Tails is wandering the waters around the Land of Water. The Four-Tails is in the Mountains of the Land of Earth. The Five-Tails is living in the forests of the Land of Fire. The Six-Tails is living somewhere in the Land of Water. The Seven-Tails is contained within a ward of the Cysgodol Legion, here in Britain. The Eight-Tails is held within a Kumo shinobi, just like the Two-Tails. And I am the vessel for the Nine and Ten Tails." Riley answered, listing them all off. Due to how closely the ICW kept an eye on the Bijuu, all of this information was easily accessible, so Riley didn't feel bothered sharing it. Best to get it out now and offer an explanation for it, than have them discover it on their own and run wild with speculation.

"You contain two of these demons inside of you?" Oliver asked, as the others started to shift nervously.

"Yep, the Nine-Tailed Fox was partly sealed into my body when I was born and was fully sealed after the rest of it was stolen from it's host by a terrorist here in Britain. We recaptured it, and sealed that piece of it in me, unifying both halves. The Ten-Tails couldn't be defeated by normal means, not without risking damage to the whole planet. Just by existing it caused all of those chaotic storms, and the energy it released that you all bore witness to in eastern Asia, was enough power to turn this entire planet into space dust. So fighting it was out. I had to seal it away, and because I had the **Rinnegan, **I had a body strong enough to withstand the sealing process and contain it." Riley told them.

"What's it like?" Francis inquired curiously after recovering from the idea that there were entities in the world that could just blow it away if they wanted to.

"What's it like? Like what's it like having a Tailed Beast living inside of you?" Riley asked in response, earning a nod from the man, she continued, "Well I've had the Nine-Tails sealed in me since the day I was born, but he only woke up and started interacting with me when I was twelve. When the Fox is in a mood, he can be a truly terrifying creature, and I've experienced his power first hand, but mostly he's just a big lazy furry bastard. Sleeps most of the time, only really chimes in when something catches his interest. You know how you can hear your own little voice inside your head, when you're thinking? Well he can talk to me like that. Whenever he's not sleeping which is most of the time, he either offers me some interesting insight, and given he's three thousand years old, he's quite wise, but most of the time, he's actually just being a fox. Or at least, he acts a lot like how you'd expect a fox to act. Mischievous, dastardly, a bit of a jerk at times, but he's not so bad, I've grown use to his antics, and he an I work well together. The Ten-Tails on the other hand… well it has far less of a personality. It's pretty much all nature, all will, all the time. Doesn't do much thinking or anything like that, so I don't really have much to worry about in regards to that one." Riley answered, earning an indignant snort from Kurama which made her chuckle.

"So… despite being a demon, he's just… okay?" Oliver inquired, slightly confused.

"He's a demon made by a human. If he were a regular demon, he'd be a lot, lot worse. But because he was made by a human, and his personality was shaped by the will of a human, he's actually rather pleasant company when you get past his grouchy exterior. The Tailed Beasts don't like humans. We're basically ants to them, and on multiple occasions these ants kick in the doors to their homes and try to use them as weapons for whatever wars we're waging at the time, so often times the Tailed Beasts like to steer clear of civilization and just relax somewhere away from us. They're not at all evil, but they are malevolent, and will respond with incredible aggression if you even so much as annoy them. So… not necessarily 'okay' but they are far better than truer demons. We're very lucky in that regard. Certain Jinchuriki like myself have gotten to the point where we've developed a working relationship with our Tailed Beast. And they'll offer us power in battle if we need it. It's actually thanks to the Nine-Tails that we even stood a chance against the revived Ten-Tails." Riley responded to the question.

"Has this demon ever tried to control you? I understand such a thing is possible, and is one of the reason the ICW demands to know the location of all the Jinchuriki." Chester inquired.

"Nope. He's never made the attempt." Riley responded, leaving it at that.

"Has anyone ever tried to kill one of these things?" Hugh asked, his question sparking great interest from Chester.

"People have tried, people have succeeded. More often they fail, but it has happened before. The problem is that Tailed Beasts are higher magical beings, they are made of pure magic. Their bodies are comprised of it. It's like how a normal person's body is made of atoms… a Tailed Beast's body isn't. If you took a chunk of flesh from a Bijuu, and examined it under a microscope, you wouldn't see cells, and the like, because they don't have cells. If you examined their blood, you would find that their blood isn't comprised of red blood cells and plasma. Hell one of the Tailed Beasts, the Two-Tails, is made of blue and black fire. It's shaped like a cat, but it's pretty much sentient fire. Beings that have that much power can exist without a physical body. Even if you kill the vessel that the power inhabits, it'll just make a new one. People have successfully killed the Bijuu in the past, and anywhere from a few weeks to a few months later, it just reforms it's body, good as new. Bodies help these things interact with the world around them, like using a puppet to move things, but they don't require it. Demons, gods, angels, all creatures that are comprised of pure magic, can and often do exist primarily in ethereal form. It just takes more concentration and focus to interact with something when you don't have a physical body." Riley answered the question smirking at the dumbfounded looks she received.

"That is absolutely astounding. And the magical world has studied these phenomenons?" Francis questioned her.

"There are a lot of studies on the strange and unusual. The interactions of ghosts, and phantoms, the existence of the soul, and it's properties in regards to life and magic, the existence of angels and demons, and their war with one another, the existence of heaven and hell, and what these places truly represent. There is a bit of truth in all legends. I never believed in hell, until I looked upon the shores of the river Archeron. I've spoken with the Grim Reaper on occasion, I've had dealings with individuals from other universes, and other worlds. Our dinky little blue ball in space, is nothing compared to whats out there." Riley answered leaning back in her chair as she did.

"You've truly done all of that? The Grim Reaper, others worlds, all of it?" Oliver inquired.

"Indeed I have. In case you were wondering I can say without a shadow of doubt that there are other living things out in the universe. Where they are and what they're doing, I have no clue, but they do exist." Riley replied chuckling to herself, as she could only feel that information settle in throughout the millions watching this program.

"Alright, we've reached about the halfway point and we wanted to try something different, we've got some people at home, who've called in with their own questions and we'd like to run those by you." Oliver explained, earning a nod from Riley.

"Alright, our first question comes from Emily Adams from right here in London, she asks 'With the current state of affairs in the world today, do you see the reveal of magic and magical society as a smooth transition or do you see anything that may lead you to believe that there will be problems?'" Oliver began with the first question.

"Well as it is for any two cultures I see there being a great deal of uncertainty in how these two cultures come to coexist with one another. It's all about cooperation and communication, and I believe if we can work together than this transition could be beneficial to all involved." Riley answered.

"Alright, next question comes from Harris Walker of Birmingham, he asks 'With information about the extreme practices coming out in the magical worlds and the Elemental Nations, do you believe they will begin to change the way they do things in regards to how they treat their children for example?'" Oliver asked again, Riley let out a dry chuckle at that and shook her head.

"You were soldier at a very young age weren't you? You have a sort of unique perspective in this area." Oliver noted, remembered what Draco had said in regards to how young Riley had been when she first started fighting.

"A century ago in the Elemental Nations, clans fought endlessly against one another. There was almost constant warfare, and kids as young as five were being trained to fight adults, and more often than not, being killed by them in return. My Great-Grandfather and Grandfather, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiwa, were the leaders of two of the most powerful clans in the Elemental Nations at the time. They fought with each other tireless, and both men lost multiple siblings to the others clan. Eventually the two came together and decided to end the conflict, deciding that if they joined forces and brought all of their allies together, than no other single clan could hope to stand against them. This unification into a singular force, a single city-state, or village, quickly became adopted by the warring clans throughout the Elemental Nations, to the point now where almost every shinobi clan is allied or part of a shinobi village. Yes, they do engage in large scale conflicts now that they've unified their powers, but the establishment of the Shinobi villages has also ushered in decades of peace, whereas before, wars were constant and unending. A hundred years ago, the life expectancy of a shinobi was thirty years. Nowadays, that is closer to fifty now." Riley explained to them all, and the viewers at home.

"So you believe the Elemental Nations are beginning to slowly come out of this age of war and are becoming less prone to violence?" Oliver questioned.

"I didn't say they were less prone to violence, I only said that conflicts aren't as common now. Back in the old days you fought for pride, or honor, or a single insult to your clan. When family was all you had, that's what you fought for. In today's day and age, the leaders of the various Hidden Villages are all allied with their host nation, and serve them. They have to think about their host nation, and their own people, they can't just go to war for pride any longer, they can't just start a conflict with their rivals because nowadays, entire nations are watching. When it was just families and everyone was doing it, conflicts were a dime a dozen and not one really knew what everyone else was doing. Today, everyone knows everyone's business, and that keeps people in line, it stops the fighting because everyone is watching you." Riley responded.

"But you believe it's getting better?" Oliver asked.

"Yes. It is getting better. Bit by bit. Like all things, there will be hiccups along the way, but these things take time, nothing happens overnight. When it comes to a society changing it's views, that takes time and commitment to change. Eventually these things start to fade. Maybe in a generation, maybe two or three, but eventually things start to change." Riley answered his question, seeming thoughtful for a moment as she reflected on the current state of the world and where this all would one day head.

"What about yourself, you were brought up as a child soldier, trained to fight and even kill at a very young age." Oliver questioned her.

"It's a dangerous world out there. More than just enemy forces lay in wait beyond the safety of your homes. Families teach their young how to defend themselves. I myself began training at a very young age of my own volition. I needed to protect myself from threats, and so I trained and trained and trained, and then I proved my skills to the state, and earned the rank of a shinobi. In the village I came from, you went into the academy at around eight years old and remained there for at least four years, though some would stay for a lot longer, depending on their abilities, or lack thereof. Upon completion of all primary course material, you are put through two sets of tests. The first is to see if you have the utmost of basic skills to even continue as a shinobi, if you pass you move onto the second test. These tests are administered by elite shinobi, and they usually test for certain skills, that the elite shinobi deems as necessary to become a full-blown shinobi. If these students are successful, they are usually given over to the same elite shinobi that tested them and taken on as a squad. Usually three per squad, with the elite shinobi to guard and train them. These little shinobi are called Genin, or more specifically rookie Genin. If you want I can explain the ranking system of the shinobi so you can better understand how they operate?" Riley offered in response, knowing that having an actual explanation would placate at least a few people so she wouldn't have to hear so many people crying about the suffering of children.

"I think we all would appreciate that." Oliver replied, earning a nod of agreement from his fellow panelists.

"Alright, first rank you need to know is that of the academy student..." Riley began, taking her time to explain the shinobi ranking system and the various aspects of it, like how one receives a promotion, what responsibilities their rank entailed and the like.

"Beyond the rank of Jonin is the Anbu, the elite black-ops of the village. Not much is known about these men and women, only that they are the most loyal servants of the leader of the village, and carry out some of the most extreme missions. The Anbu exist separately from the main shinobi force and can be plucked from any rank, if they show the necessary skills. The Anbu obey the Kage and the Kage alone. The Kage, is the lord of a shinobi village. They are the most powerful shinobi in their villages, and held to the highest regard. My great-grandfather Hashirama was the first Hokage of the Hidden Leaf. His younger brother the second. My father was the fourth, so I come from a long like of Kage. My fiance is the Kazekage of Sunagakure, and I fought and killed two of the Tsuchikages from Iwa. One before the war began, and the second during the attack on the Wind Capital. The Kage are the strongest of shinobi and are held to a high standard." Riley finished her explanation on the various shinobi ranks, hoping now that they knew how the system operated, they would begin to ease up on their accusations, at least until she left.

"Didn't I hear you mention you were married twice? At nineteen? And you have a fiance?" Oliver noted, after a few quiet moments.

"Yes, due to my unique bloodlines, and being only one of a handful of my kind left in the world, I've been asked to help repopulate my clan. So the state allows me to engage in polygamy. I have two wives, and am engaged to three more, in political alliances that will secure our alliance with Sunagakure and Kumogakure. As I mentioned I'm marrying the leader of the Hidden Sand Village, Sunagakure, and I'm also most likely going to marry the Two-Tails Jinchuriki of Kumo, securing out alliance with both of those villages and their host nations. I'm also engaged to Queen Artoria Pendragon." Riley explained earning looks of surprise from all those around her.

Many of them shared some glances with each other, and Riley could clearly tell the host was frantically trying to communicate telepathically with his producers because this was turning into media gold.

"I'm guessing because you're marrying women, that you can use magic to assist in procreation with them?" Hugh inquired.

"Absolutely. Sex magics have been around for thousands of years, and can allow for safe same-sex reproduction. Me being a woman and marrying women, makes logical sense to most of the higher ups who want to see my bloodline propagated here in England. I actually have one on the way, hoping to see the birth here in the next few weeks." Riley noted.

"Wow! And no complications?" Hugh continued his inquiry, being a biologist and someone who studied human anatomy, this was definitely something that interested him, though the physicist was equally as curious while everyone else was simply dumbfounded and trying to wrap their heads around this particular bit of info, that while truly a small revelation had major consequences for the world. If two people of the same sex could reproduce with magic, then what were the limits on biology anymore?

"None that we can tell. Everything seems to be going smoothly, so we're hopeful to see her deliver sometime soon." Riley answered, enjoying the moment of pleasant conversation, without the need to defend herself or magicals in general.

"You mentioned that you're engaged to Queen Artoria Pendragon. The magical Queen, that we've been hearing about. If the two of you are engaged, that would mean you'd be… what? The royal consort? I'm not exactly sure how that's organized. Has the magical world had such a precedent before?" Oliver inquired after gathering his thoughts and finding a way to push forward.

"Not to my knowledge, at least not here. And just so you're aware, we only elected Artoria after the death of the royal family. You see, magical Britain still knelt to the rule of the royal house of Britain. Unfortunately due to Millennium, we felt the sting of that loss as much as the rest of the nation. Seeing as this is a time of great chaos, we knew we'd need a strong leader to guide all of us through this mess, so we chose to instate Artoria, as the only person with the skill, the heritage, and wisdom to see this through, and help unite our peoples." Riley answered part of his question, using this opportunity to move the conversation towards something more important. It also helped her to not have to answer that first question as she actually didn't know. Artoria had yet to tell her what Riley's role as the Queen's wife would be. Would she be some sort of queen as well? Would she be Queen Consort, just Consort, Princess? Riley didn't know, and Artoria hadn't told her yet. Truthfully there was no real precedent for it, to Riley's knowledge, at least among humans, so it really would boil down to what Artoria decided. Riley hoped it was one of the lesser two, the fewer responsibilities she had, the happier she would be, though she doubted Artoria would be so merciful.

"So it is the intention of Magical Britain to assume leadership of the country? May I ask, and I'm not being antagonistic with this, I'm just curious, why do you believe we need a magical ruler, and why this woman? What qualifies her?" Oliver inquired, genuinely interested in what Riley had to say.

"Well… the world is changing. Magic and the magical world has been unveiled and every nation with a magical half to it, is going to see some major restructuring in the future. We face these same hardships but on a much higher level. Parliament has all but been destroyed. The Prime Minister is dead, the royal family is gone. The head of our nation was severed from it's body by Millennium, and now we have to get control of the situation, and quickly. We elected a Queen of our own, because we needed to be unified, and now we can only hope to try and unify with the rest of the nation. We may be a magical government, but we are still an English one, and the people need guidance, they need safety, they need direction and hope. That's why we've been working so closely with the military, to try and keep things safe and secure for the people. And as for Artoria… she is the Once and Future king." Riley explained to them all, leaning forward in her seat as she did.

"What do you mean by that? 'Once and Future King'? She's a woman, a queen, so how is she a king?" Julia asked.

"It's in the name. Where have you heard the name Pendragon before?" Riley asked in response.

Silence filled the room as the panelists shared glances with one another, coming to the same realization.

"Are you saying that Queen Artoria is descended from King Arthur?" Oliver asked.

"No… I'm saying she is King Arthur. Born to Uther Pendragon, born as a girl, raised as a knight, her gender kept hidden from all those around her. She spent the entirety of her youth, learning to be a knight, learning what it meant to lead, being groomed to one day assume her father's throne. She drew the sword Caliburn from the Stone, proving her right to be King, and for the entirety of her reign, she kept her gender a secret, only a handful ever knew. Her wife, a few of her closest companions, the mage Merlin. Artoria Pendragon is King Arthur. She was brought here by the Grim Reaper, brought to our lands during a time of strife, brought forward in time from the moment of her fall, on the fields of Camlann. Her legends says that King Arthur is the Once and Future King of the Britons. We believe it was her destiny to be here when we needed her the most. If today was anything like all those years ago, she would have assumed the mantle of a king. Being that we are far more progressive in our beliefs then people of that age, she has no reason to hide her gender any longer." Riley replied, earning dumbfounded amazement from everyone in the studio, and seemingly everyone in England, if Riley's senses were accurate.

"How do you know for certain? How do you know that she really is who she says she is?" Chester asked, before Oliver could.

"Well she carries the mighty Excalibur, and when she was proclaimed Queen, the sword in the stone reappeared for her to claim, so now she holds Caliburn the Sword of Choosing, and Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory. She's sworn oaths on her magic, and life that her words were true, and just so you know, such oaths are binding, if you swear on your life and magic, and then make a statement proclaiming it as truth, then magic will harm you if you lie. If you knowingly lie, it'll kill you, it you simply believe something that is actually false, it'll only hurt you, or possibly strip you of your magical abilities. She was neither hurt nor killed, so her identity is confirmed, she is King Arthur Pendragon. Also since we elected her Queen, the Magus of Flowers has found his way back to her side. Merlin himself. You may have noticed the flowery white haired ponce traveling with her in some of the recent footage of her." Riley answered, inwardly chuckling at her jab towards the playful mage.

Again she received more looks of dumbfounded amazement, as people took in her words.

"She is the best person for the job in my opinion. She ruled over our people once before and united the country when chaos reigned. I believe she has it in her to do it again. To unite us all, magicals and non-magicals alike. I believe in her, and I hope others come to see what I see in her." Riley continued to say after a few moments of pause.

"Do you believe that it's in the best interest of our people to accept a magical leader taking over? In your opinion, do you believe that's best?" Oliver asked her.

"I believe that it's for the best that our people be led by someone who understands our strengths, and our powers. Just like you wouldn't ask a school teacher to work in a nuclear missile silo, you wouldn't ask a non-magical being to dictate how a society with access to this kind of power, should act. You've asked a lot of questions here tonight, and asking questions is a good thing, and I believe that there is much to gain from our two societies joining together and cooperating. But with that being said, we turn to Artoria because she's led magicals and non-magicals before. She knows how to lead our people as a whole, were it not for her, we wouldn't be talking here today. We wouldn't be having these conversations, as equals sitting across from one another. Most magicals have no desire to interact with the non-magical world, we do things our own way because magic gives us the ability to circumvent all sorts of things you consider natural or right or morally correct. Were it not for Millennium's attack, we would have been content to remain separate from the non-magical world." Riley explained to them.

"But you do believe that we should have a magical ruler?" Chester asked, attempting to pin her with a look.

"I'm biased, though as a point of fact, Artoria has access to magic, but she isn't a witch or a sorceress or even a shinobi. By her own admission she's a knight. I don't necessarily believe we need a magical ruler, but we do need a ruler who understands magic and magical people. Non-magicals outnumber us vastly, but magicals are far more dangerous individually than anyone else." Riley answered, Chester looked like he was about to continue the line of questioning but Oliver cut him off.

"It's an interesting stance to take, and I'm sure many people at home are interested to see how the country grows and changes from these recent disasters and revelations. We could probably continue discussing this topic for hours on end, but before we dive further into that, we'd like to get a few more questions from our viewers." Oliver began, gaining a nod from Riley, urging him to continue.

"Ellie Smith from Dover says, 'Thanks to you all for helping to protect our city, I was living in Dover during the attack and could see the explosions from my home. Never knew the real truth about what occurred, but I'm happy to hear we have people who are willing to step up and keep us safe. My question is, how do I go about getting into contact with someone in the magical world in response to the possibility that my child may be magical? During prior interviews, it was explained that sometimes magical children just appear in families, and I've noticed my child doing some strange things, moving from across the room, making things float, and even unlocking locked doors. Just as a side note, she is three years old.'"

"Well normally due to the dangers of our possible reveal, an individual from the Ministry of Magic would stop by your house and let you know what's going on. Sometimes children do slip through the cracks, as there are only so many people to handle these investigations. If you think you're child may be magical in nature you can speak to one of the aurors, or the legionaries out and about and inform them of the nature of the situation. Given the minor dangers involved with untrained magical children, someone will be sent out to give you a full explanation of what's going on and how to best keep your child from getting into too much trouble. Otherwise you can also visit one of the access points to Diagon Alley, here in London, the entrances have been marked, and are public information at the moment, stationed at the entrances are information booths and watchers who are ready and willing to answer any and all inquiries, just tell them your situation and they'll contact the Ministry and have a representative sent out." Riley explained to them.

"So the Ministry is able to track uses of magic around the country?" Oliver inquired.

"Yes, there are special spells in place that monitor magic being used all around the world by various magical governments. Our magical government employs a wide standing network that detects the use of magic, if this magic is being used outside of an area of magic, then aurors are sent to investigate the cause, or at least they were, to ensure someone isn't violating the Statute of Secrecy. Also wands that are crafted for our young are given a special tracing spell which will also alert them ministry if the child in question is using their wand outside of school or a place of magic. When they pass their OWL exams the trace is removed. Usually it takes about four to six months after a child begins using magic for the ministry to swing by and have a sit down with the parents. At the age of eleven a magical child will be invited to join one of the magical schools in the area." Riley responded to them.

"I see. That's very interesting. So magicals can detect what people are doing in their homes?" Chester inquired, giving her a curious look. Riley very nearly let out a sigh at that, as she knew he was going to try and make that into something worse than it was.

"No not really. This network is more like the surface of a lake. You use magic and it's like bubbles rising to the surface disturbing the surface of the lake. They're not actually able to see what's going on beneath the surface, only detect the use of magic, and if it's in a place that isn't designated as a magical location or residence, then they send someone to investigate." Riley clarified.

Chester stared at her for a moment, nodding as she explained. Riley kept relaxed as the viewer questions continued. She answered what she could but tried not to reveal any personal information about other people.

Eventually they reached a question where Riley was asked to display a bit of magic. So she complied and showed off a few basic spells. She took a sheet of paper and transfigured it into a bird, and then lit the bird on fire and had it soar around the room, before she against transfigured it into a giant fat toad that plopped down on the table and began croaking. She then had the frog begin a dance, which earned laughter from those in the room.

Riley kept her patience as she dealt with the waxing and the waning of the tension in the room. While some of them were truly interested in learning all they could about the magical world, it was obvious that Chester and Oliver had agendas. The former was taking every opportunity to try and pin her with difficult questions, that may paint the magical world in a negative light, while Oliver was fishing for a lot of information.

Riley kept her cool, despite her temper, and answered what she could in a way she thought wouldn't invite too much conflict.

It was honestly the longest two hours of her life, and she was going to make it clear to Artoria when she was finished, that this wasn't happening again.

Luckily, it seems like any attempts to locate or air some of Riley's dirty laundry had met with failure, and eventually, the interview ended and Riley was freed.

She met up with Artoria shortly afterwards, who'd been watching the entire thing on television.

"You did well." Artoria noted.

"Be happy, because it's never happening again." Riley muttered in response, taking Artoria into her arms.

"Thank you for handling this. You did do a good job, though with what they have now, they'll begin pushing deeper. It wasn't said but it wont take long before someone notes that magical Britain has three Tailed Beasts, and is in an alliance with three more. Magically speaking, we have the most power." Artoria noted.

"Yep. It's gonna get wild. I hope you're ready for it." Riley responded, kissing at her lover's forehead after she finished speaking.

Artoria let out a quiet sigh as she turned thoughtful. Things would start happening faster now. People had a vague idea of the power they were dealing with, and would soon start to form sides. It wouldn't be long now before a line would be drawn in the sand and the real arguments would start.

"Come on, let's go spend some time alone, I think you owe me after the hell I just went through." Riley commanded, taking Artoria's hand.

"I do believe you should be rewarded for enduring such hardships. So I will accept your proposal and see you properly rewarded." Artoria replied, earning a laugh from Riley.

"Nice, sex it is then!" Riley cheered.

"What?" Artoria responded, her face turning red, as Riley let out a laugh.

"I'm just fucking with you, let's relax." Riley teased kissing the side of her lover's head as she led her forward. Artoria stared straight ahead the whole time, her face as red as a tomato.

**-Ministry of Magic, England. September 5th 1999-**

Riley stood alongside Itachi, Artoria, Merlin, and Lucius before a representative from the Sky Ninja.

Artoria was quietly reading over a document that these shinobi had brought here on behalf of their leader. She then passed the document to Itachi, who read it over as well and shared a look with Riley.

"What's it say?" Riley inquired.

"They wish to join us. The Legion in specific. The Sky Ninja are offered to officially unify with the Cysgodol Legion, and join their military power with ours." Itachi replied, passing Lucius the message for him to read.

"Why?" Riley inquired curiously.

"With the reveal of the magical world, things will begin to change. Non-magicals will begin to enter the Elemental Nations and carry out their own investigations, and the world will seek to limit us and what we can do. We wish to unify with our goddess, joining our forces to hers in preparation for the trials to come. The Sky Ninja will officially join the Cysgodol Legion under Lord Uchiha's command, and we will swear fealty to Queen Artoria." The Messenger explained.

Artoria was silent for a moment before she shared a glance with Merlin who offered her a smile and a nod.

"Give us a moment to discuss." Artoria commanded, stepping aside with her advisers to discuss this recent event.

"A whole Shinobi village willing to disband and officially become part of another, such a thing is unheard of." Itachi noted.

"True, but this Shinobi village is different from others. Remember they also function almost as a religious community. Their mindset is a bit different from other shinobi." Riley replied.

"Perhaps we should way the pros and cons?" Merlin suggested, sensing that Artoria and the others had dealt with the sky ninja before.

"According to their message, they are willing to fully integrate into the Legion, all they are asking for in return is citizenship in Britain and a command role for their commander. So they want their leader to work directly with Itachi perhaps as a sub-commander of sorts. Now what do they bring to the table? Ten thousand shinobi. Advanced military weapons, the only shinobi air force, and the largest and most advanced shinobi fleet. After the recent damage done to one of Britain's fighter carriers, we're lacking a bit at sea. Also… as the Americans have proven, in the age of modern warfare, those who rule the sky, rule the battlefield." Riley noted to Artoria, Itachi voicing his agreement to that sentiment.

If the Legion wanted to surpass all other militaries in the known world, they would need to expand into the realm of piloting. Due to a shinobi's reflexes and durability, theoretically they could become unimaginably skilled pilots, able to withstand greater g-forces and speeds then non-magical pilots. With their recent cooperation with the British armed forces, the Legion had an opportunity to begin learning how to pilot aircraft, like planes and helicopters, the addition of the Legion who already had experience in the air, with their special gliders, would be invaluable as a way to expand their technologies and abilities, not to mention adding the Sky ninja to their ranks would triple their numbers.

"And what are the downsides?" Merlin inquired.

"Not many if I'm being honest. These people are a bit fanatical, but not overly dangerous to non-believers. We worked well with them during the war, and the center point to their religion is Riley. They believe her to be a goddess, or at least an avatar of their goddess." Artoria replied.

"When the two of you marry, they will hold you to a similar esteem my Queen. Accepting this alliance will sure-up your military power, and expand it in new directions. The greater your power, the more hesitant the rest of the world will be to stand against you." Merlin offered, as Artoria contemplated what she should do. After a few moments she shared a look with Itachi.

"Ready to take on a few new subordinates?" Artoria inquired.

"I'll manage. This alliance will greatly benefit us. I have no doubt they are doing this because of Riley, but ultimately, we still receive the greater reward from their service. Lord Merlin is right, when you are married, they will hold you to a similar esteem as they do Riley, that kind of loyalty is difficult to garner. It would be wise to seize upon it now, and use this opportunity to further solidify our position. Not to mention uniting with the Sky Ninja, removes a piece from the board. Reducing the number of players. Again, a benefit to us." Itachi answered.

Artoria agreed with the wisdom being offered to her and voiced her agreement. She quickly returned to the messenger and commanded that he carry an offer back to his commander and ask that he come to England and meet with Artoria personally to work out the details of this unification.

-**Riley's Home-**

Later that night, Riley was sitting in her living room with her mates watching the television when Katie arrived home from work.

"What are you guys up to?" Katie inquired as she hung up her coat.

"Just watching the entire world fall into rampant speculation." Riley responded as she eyed the television with a rueful smirk.

"Already we've got people asking if it's legal for one country to have three of the Bijuu. We've got people worried about how England is going to be allied with the only two other nations with access to Jinchuriki. Someone in the United States is going around telling people that Bijuu can take out entire countries, not just cities." Daphne added.

"Shit..." Katie muttered with a shake of her head.

"On the lighter side, we've also got people pinning all sort of vigilante justice onto magicals. It's especially prevalent in the United States, in places like Metropolis, they've got someone the media called the Blur. Someone who's moving faster than camera's can follow, rescuing people from crimes and accidents. In Central City, they've got someone similar. The media thinks these are both Shinobi. Hell there's speculation going on that even Batman is a magical." Riley stated, chuckling as she did.

"Who the hell is Batman?" Katie asked.

"A guy in Gotham city, dresses like a giant bat and beats the fuck out of criminals. Man after my own heart, I swear." Riley responded, chuckling to herself at the mental image. Katie let out a laugh at that, as she also imagined some guy in a bat costume stalking the shadows and beating the snot out of criminals.

"Some of it's pretty funny, but there is an edge of concern as well. This wild speculation is going to lead people to being afraid." Daphne noted, sobering up the attitudes of those around her.

Katie soon joined them, in watching the world's reaction to Riley's interview.

They sat watching well into the night as various new organizations began digging up info on her, on Jinchuriki, on shinobi. It was a chaotic scramble for any information that people could get their hands on.

**-September 6th 1999-**

By the early morning of the following day, people were openly sharing what information they had. Someone had gone and leaked a photo to the muggle media taken from the destruction of Konoha, where Riley beat the Angel of Carnage. The image that shocked the world, the sight of the massive floating sphere of earth, that had once been one of the most powerful Shinobi villages in the world.

Not long after that photo was released, word began to spread about the legend of the Sage of Six Paths, and how he had supposedly created the moon when he beat the Ten-Tails. Now people were really losing their minds. The moon had quite possibly been made as a cage to hold in a demon of unimaginable power, and hilariously, people were now questioning whether the Americans knew this or not, when they had traveled to the moon decades ago. They were also wondering what, if anything, the moon landing could have done to possibly stir up trouble with the Ten-Tails.

Riley and company found the rampant speculation to be hilarious, while at the same time, their laughter had a nervous edge to it. People were afraid, and it was obvious. Nations all around the UK were asking for information on the Jinchuriki, what were their capabilities, what range did they have, ect, ect. Interestingly enough, because the UK didn't have a muggle government at the moment, most of those questions were going to the military, and the military was quickly falling into line behind the Round Table, and Artoria.

Revelations that Artoira was actually the legendary King Arthur was met with awe from the average populace. Artoria did little alter her style, and often appeared as a knight, wearing her armor and blue battle dress. She appeared as a knight of old, and her appearance led many to begin to believe that Riley was telling the truth. Especially when magical governments outside of Britain who would have a reason to refute such a claim, could only sigh and agree that according to magical oaths and the goblins, she was King Arthur.

While Riley's interview drudged up a lot of the darker things she'd done, her revelation about Artoria being King Arthur, had won them a great deal of support from the people. The average citizens were enthralled by the idea that this living legend had returned to save them from the chaos Millennium had invoked.

Things were beginning to get very interesting.

**-September 8th 1999-**

Someone had let slip that Riley could resurrect the dead.

Of all the things that were coming out about the magical world, bringing dead people back to life had to be the most mind blowing.

Now people all over the world were arguing about it. Was it morally right to bring the dead back to life? Was it fair that she had the power when others didn't? Why should only her friends not have to fear death? What was being dead like? Why did she have this power? Why hadn't she mentioned it? Was she trying to hide it?

People were busy spewing forth rampant speculation on the matter, meanwhile Riley was quickly developing an almost cult-like appeal to the people of Britain. The fear was starting to evaporate, as people came to understand that if they followed Artoira, then they got the strongest magical being in the world to protect their country. People were throwing around all sorts of crazy numbers when it came to her kill count during the war. Some people were saying that she had killed over a million people during the war with her bare hands. Riley found the speculation amusing, as did many of her family members.

For the most part, while the world lost it's collective mind, Artoria was busy securing power in the UK. People were now turning out in droves to see King Arthur reborn, and it wasn't just Artoria's legend that drove them, it was Artoria herself. With the average people now seeking her out, Artoria was able to flex her almost otherworldly charisma, enthralling people with her valor, honor, and overall commanding aura. She simply gave off a vibe of power that people responded to, and it was beginning to amass quite the following.

Riley had to stick close to her beloved mate to make sure she was actually sleeping, at task she quickly recruited Merlin to, in order to aid her in the endeavor. Artoria was just strong-willed enough to argue the point with one of them, but when both of them ganged up on her, she was willing to concede defeat and take some time to rest.

Both of them knew it would be better in the long-term if Artoria was in the best mood possible.

**-September 10th 1999-**

Artoria had finally met with the commander of the Sky Ninja. Keichi Sarazawa had changed little since the war. A man of above average height, and strong build, with dark eyes and no hair on his head or face, he had an intense way about him. Though they had fought together during the war, and thus greeted each other as comrades.

Artoria and he, along with both of their advisers, including Hashirama, Madara, Tobirama, Izuna, Itachi, Riley, Merlin and Lucius were all present as Artoria and Keichi discussed the Sky Ninja integrating with the UK and joining the Legion.

They discussed in-depth the Sky Ninja's reasons for wanting to join together, not just in an alliance but fully join the Legion, such a sacrifice of identity was almost unheard of since the Hidden Villages were founded.

They discussed at length, how the Sky Ninja could see that the world was changing, and that banding together was their best chance to prosper. The Legion was in the midst of revolutionizing the way Shinobi waged war, introducing firearms into their repertoire of skills, developing new ninjutsu based on these weapons, as well as developing new weapons entirely, the Legion was on the cutting edge of this revolution. The Sky Ninja knew they only had two choices, compete, or join. Given their whole mission surrounded preparation for the Coming Day of Wrath, enhancing their combat abilities however they could was almost a mandate for them.

Discussion continued all day and into the night, about how such a thing would occur, and eventually the pact was sealed. Keichi and his Sky ninja would join the Legion under Itachi's command, with Keichi taking the role as leader of their magical air force. He'd be given a position on the Round Table and would report directly to Itachi and Artoria. The Sky Ninja would be made citizens of magical Britain, and would be allowed to immigrate there whenever they wished. The Legion would establish a military outpost in the Land of Sky, which the Sky Ninja owned, a small island in the north eastern part of the continent.

This unification was unprecedented, and Riley took grate pleasure in dropping off the info to Gaia and Yugito, letting them know what was happening.

**-September 12th 1999-**

News was soon out to the country that the Sky Ninja had officially joined the Legion. Now people were busy asking all sorts of questions about them, which took some of the heat off of Artoria's movements as she continued to travel the country, dealing with various problems, such as disgruntled public servants, and military officers.

The magicals were quickly gaining a strong following in Britain, even as various magical representatives from other nations began appearing on their own muggle counterparts' news networks to begin discussions about magic and the like.

All in all, things were progressing well.

Though out of everything, the most important detail was that Fleur was about ready to deliver. It would be only a few more weeks until Hashirama would be comfortable with the child's development, and would be ready to advise that they induce labor, if it hadn't already happened yet.

Riley and Fleur were absolutely ecstatic, and Riley spent every waking moment with her new wife, whenever she wasn't busy working. The excitement for the newborn was mirrored by many of Riley's family members, who were eager to see the child come into the world.

**-September 18th 1999-**

Word had reached Artoria through Riley's spies in Loki and Schrödinger that the UN was starting to get nervous. It was almost a guarantee now with the support they had been getting from the people, that England would come under new leadership and become an absolute monarchy again.

The UN and many of it's member nations were nervous about the prospect of an absolute monarchy, having control over three of the Bijuu, as well as England's nuclear arsenal. It was definitely getting tense on the international field, but Artoria ignored them and pressed forward, all but ensuring that the country would unite under her rule.

Words had begun to spread that things were stirring in the heartland of the US as well. A man in red and blue, capable of flying, was now openly combating crime in Metropolis. Many people pointed out that this man was most likely the Blur that had been secretly aiding the city for a year or so now. He was a just and law-abiding man, taking on the role of a hero, catching criminals and turning them over to the cops, rescuing people when they were in danger, a real life superhero.

The local papers in Metropolis had started calling him Superman, as he had already displayed the ability to fly, move as supersonic speeds, and he had superhuman strength.

Riley took one looks at the boy in blue, and knew for certain that he wasn't a shinobi. She was curious about him though, as he showed impressive strength and speed, and he didn't seem to be trying that hard. She'd have to make a trip out to Metropolis one of these days and see the man for herself, and get a read on him, see if he really was as heroic as his actions painted him out to be.

**-September 20th 1999-**

Everything was coming together, the people cheered Artoria's names in the street, the military was fully under her control, just short of an official declaration, the country was now under her control.

Artoria spent many long hours with her advisers discussing how them would move forward, and eventually it was Riley who offered up the suggestion that with this great change, perhaps it was time for a rebirth of sorts.

With the rise of this new magical nation, perhaps it was for the best that it be a true magical nation, with it's own identity and name.

Riley suggested that with her ascension, Albion should rise to prominence again. A kingdom united between magicals and non-magicals.

Everyone seemed to like the idea, the Kingdom of Albion rising to unite Britannia once more.

Artoria approved, as did Merlin. Soon it would be time for an official declaration, all that was needed was to set it up.

**-St. Mungos, England. September 22nd 1999-**

Riley listen to the radio as Artoria addressed the crowd. She couldn't help but smile as her plans came to fruition and their magical nation was born.

Artoria heralded the dawn of a new age, an age of unity between all the peoples of Britannia, unified under the banner of Albion. They would be one people, strong, and diverse, and would be capable of anything they set their mind to.

People cheered as a new nation was born. Riley let out a soft chuckle, she had a clone there with Artoria for appearances sake, and would have been there herself, had Fleur's water not broken, less than an hour before Riley was scheduled to meet with Artoria for the declaration.

She had sent word to her future wife, letting her know that she wouldn't be there, and what had happened, and was now at St Mungos, ready to help bring her child into the world.

Katie stepped out of Fleur's room and called out to Riley.

"Yep?" Riley inquired.

"They're ready to begin, she's fully dilated and her contractions are coming quickly." Katie explained, earning a smile and a nod from Riley.

"Well then, let's go and see our beautiful little girl into the world." Riley responded, entering the room with Katie.

While Riley went to Fleur side and started to help her with her contractions, within her mind, Kurama was busy musing to himself.

**It's almost like an act of providence. Your first child, born on the day the first magical nation is created. That almost seems like destiny to me."** Kurama thought out loud, letting out a low chuckle as he closed his eyes and allowed himself to feel the birth of Riley's first child.

This would be the start of something amazing. The age of Man had ended, the Age of Magic was now in full swing. It was time now for the Kingdom of Albion to rise.

**-To Be Continued-**

_**Alright there's the chapter for you, it's absolutely huge, I know hope you guys like it.**_


	21. 21: Vengeance and the Trouble with Natio

_**Alright, time for the next chapter, hope you all are having a great time and keeping save, pandemic and all that. Hope this helps take your mind off of it for a few minutes at least. Anyway, let's begin.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

**Chapter 21: Vengeance and the Trouble with Nations.**

**-September 24th 1999-**

Two days had passed since the birth of little Lucille. Riley's first-born child, a healthy pink-skinned baby girl. She was born with a head full of dark hair matching Riley's own in color. Her eyes were also a dark blue, reminding her parents of Riley's eyes when she was a child.

The baby was born healthy, and came into the world with a strong little cry.

Riley's family celebrated the arrival of their newest member. While Fleur rested, Riley stayed by her side, their newborn cradled in her arms the entire time.

Throughout the day, friends and well-wishers stopped by to offer their congratulations.

Riley's grandparents looked on with pride as Riley doted on her newborn. Kushina, along with Fleur's parents and sister remained with them the entire time they were at the hospital.

Naruko came to see her new niece, bringing along Hinata and Boruto. Naruko was excited to finally get the chance to prove her merits as an aunt, just as Riley did for Boruto. She intended to be the best damn aunt any child had ever had.

Riley's mates kept close, especially Katie staying with Fleur and Riley as mother and baby were observed to make sure they were both in good health.

Riley didn't bother sleeping at all while they were in the hospital. Whenever Fleur went to bed, Riley would stay awake and stay with her child, often sitting with her cradled in her arms.

It was during those first few days, as Riley stared down at her newborn daughter, seeing the vast powers that lay within her, and yet realizing that all of this power would matter little, if this child didn't live long enough to master it. Despite how strong baby Lucille was, being half-demon half-veela, she was still just a fragile infant, her life easily snuffed out.

Riley resolved at that moment to push herself beyond her current limits. She would keep growing stronger, and keep her precious family safe. Especially this fragile little baby she now held.

Soon Fleur and the newborn were released from St. Mungos and returned home, and there, behind the safety of the magical defenses surrounding Riley's house, she began to plan her next training trip. This one would see her push herself beyond her limits, taking her power to new heights.

**-September 26th 1999-**

The rise of a true magical nation captured the world's attention. Artoria appeared on TV multiple times, delivering speeches and addresses to her people, really getting a hand on how a modern ruler could interact with their subjects.

Artoria never hesitated to walk amongst her people, and as time went by people recognized her far more often when she was on the streets. While Riley spent quite a bit of time with her newborn, she did offer her presence to aid Artoria in the birth of their new nation.

Thousands would often gather as Artoria walked the streets, or even rode on horseback, along with an entourage. Hashirama, Madara, Tobirama, Izuna, and even Kaguya, were often seen with her, Artoria valuing their wisdom and abilities, and she often kept them close to assist Merlin in advising her.

One of the first changes that was made was Riley teaching the Dementors how to change their shape. Her intention was to allow Legionnaires to operate around the civilian populace without drawing to much attention. This lead to the Dementors taking the form of all black suits, sort of like formal business attire.

These suits still acted the same way as they did in cloak form but they actually offered more protection as instead of just a knee length black cloak, they now formed into jacket and pants, covering most of the body in the Dementor's magically resistant bodies.

Taking the form of business suits also added an air of class to the Legionnaires, making them seem a bit less terrifying, and also allowing them to move about with their defensive cloak in more public places without standing out.

Aside from that, Artoria began the next phase of her plan to restore order to the nation, and that involved going down the checklist of needs the country had, and finding a way to get what they needed.

The first order of business was to speed up food production, ensuring that they had enough to feed themselves was instrumental in a happy populace.

Magical botanists and herbologists to go over what upgrades could be made to the nation's food productions. Magicals never had to worry about food, as their gardens, greenhouses, and what few farms they had, were all designed to use magic to speed up the growth of plants, and often they were tended by teams of House elves and the like.

Riley offered her aid in that regard, asking Hashirama to show her how to use magic to enhance the fertility of the ground soil. Hashirama had done this around Konoha which is what allowed it's farms to produce food so swiftly, and was one reason why food was so dirt cheap there. Hashirama had done this to other locations, even if only accidentally, and it was one of the reasons why the forests of the Land of Fire had some locations where the trees grew incredibly tall and wide.

After Riley had learned how to do this, she simply told Artoria to offer to all the farmers in the country, if anyone wanted Riley to use her magic to enhance the fertility of their fields, she would do so. It wouldn't take her much time, and she could just send clones to do it, so it was no big issue. They would make it a choice to the farmers, knowing full well that as soon as people saw the results, everyone would want it.

After food came other resources, like energy.

That one was simple. Those with fire, or lightning base elements could use their abilities to provide power. Either by using fire abilities to generate heat for certain needs, or by gathering the energy provided by the electrical output of lightning.

This was sure to piss off the power companies but Artoria didn't really care. She approved of capitalism and found merit in what it offered, but she also didn't intend to rely on other nations for their needs.

They would find a way to generate power using magic, without the need to continue to pay other nations for fuel sources.

Such things were possible, so long as the market required it. If England wasn't going to utilize finite resources like fossil fuels, than new inventions would have to be made to support the change.

For now, Riley intended to let her magical and muggle countrymen decide how they wanted to handle it, but if it became necessary she would simply utilize **Kotoamatsukami **to alter the minds of certain corporate leaders, to ensure that they got on board with the changes.

Aside from food and energy, they would establish a means of using magic to adjust their method of gaining access to valuable resources.

As much as they could make themselves, they would, only once it became infeasible to create such things naturally, would they then turn to establishing trade with other nations.

While Artoria and company worked on hammering out what could be done with magic to aid in the needs of the country, Riley finished her preparation for a decently long training trip. She intended to push through a ten year training spree, over the course of a night, using **Kamui**. It would be the most intense training trip she had undergone since the end of the war.

She would leave a clone behind to watch over Lucille while her mates slept, she knew they wouldn't be happy if they learned about what she was planning, but ever since Lucille was born, Riley couldn't help but note how fragile the baby was, despite her raw power. When facing an army of demons, Riley would need as much power as she could possibly get.

She wasn't at all thrilled about the idea of spending so much time away from her newborn, but she found solace in the fact that while it would feel like ages for Riley, it would only be a night for the baby, and when Riley returned, she would be stronger.

The only two who were aware of this training trip outside of Riley's familiars was Kurama and the Darkness.

So, just before midnight on the twenty-sixth, Riley created a clone, quietly kissed her mates, held her baby in her arms for several long moments, and then tucked her into her crib.

With one final glance at her mate's Riley departed into **Kamui.**

**-Kamui-**

"**Alright Riley, ten years of training starts now. Don't need to eat, or sleep, so we've got a lot of time. What's first on the agenda?"** Kurama inquired.

"Endurance training." Riley responded, flashing through hand signs and summoning Kurama into **Kamui.**

"**I'm guessing you mean the painful kind of endurance?"** Kurama noted with a chuckle.

"The last time I got hurt was during the fight with the Ten-Tails. I haven't felt true pain since then. If I don't remember what it feels like, if I don't familiarize myself with it, it can blind me, pain tolerance is something you build up. The beatings the villagers gave me as a child, helped to make me tough when I grew older. It isn't pretty, but it's a valuable learning tool. I wont fight back, I wont dodge, I wont block. For the next month, we'll spend as much time as possible, putting me through the ringer. I need to feel the raw power of magic, so… let's get started." Riley explained.

Her reasoning was sound to Kurama. If they had to face an Archdevil one day, than there would most certainly be pain. So with that in mind, Kurama drew in a deep breath, and let out a roar of hellish flames.

For the next month, Riley allowed her accomplice to ravage her body, doing everything in his power to bring her physical harm. From impaling, to burning, to explosions, Kurama did as instructed and kept up the painstaking barrage, only halting when Riley actually grew tired from regeneration.

Riley took the month to bask in the pain, familiarizing herself with it, and most importantly, maintaining her focus, through the pain. The whole point wasn't to become numb to pain, if she couldn't feel what was hurting her, than she couldn't stop it. No her focus was on maintaining her will through the pain. While Kurama attacked her, Riley would focus on developing new spells or jutsu. She'd even try and practice them. She did all that she could to remain focused on this task, while Kurama caused her harm.

She would do this quite a few times, over the course of her training trip, all to ensure that she never forgot a fundamental truth, one that had helped her throughout her life.

Pain, was the greatest teacher of all.

Soon the first month came to an end, and so began her next task. Creating a small army of **Shadow Clones** Riley had them fight her at mind numbing speeds.

Her recent interview where she had brought up her ability to move faster than light, had got her thinking, she didn't practice at those speeds because she'd never encountered a foe that could move that fast, but what if one day she did?

Ever the paranoid one, Riley chose to devote the next month to just her reaction time.

She would take some time to power up her clones, allowing them to match her speed, and then she spent the month dodging their attacks. If they weren't just blitzing her at realistically impossible speeds, they were attacking her with light based spells.

Techniques that moved at the speed of light already.

This also helped her to wind down from her month of endurance training, as she still suffered injuries.

It was during this month of training that Riley really got to push her eyes and her senses. She could actually feel the strain on her eyes, as she kept up with those movements, but as the days progressed she felt her **Rinne-Sharingan** growing keener and more focused. It amazed her but she had actually found a way to strain the eyes of god, that didn't involve pure raw magic.

Every day for the second month she engaged in these movements to the point where by the end of the month, everything else seemed to much slower than before. It had the funny side affect of Riley speaking, and moving faster than she meant to, Kurama got a kick out of it.

For the third month, Riley focused on increasing her strength. To do so she simply amplified gravity within **Kamui**.

She started with tripling gravity, which she barely felt, so she immediately increased it by a multitude of ten, bringing the gravity within **Kamui** up to about thirty times that of Earth. In her youth she had utilized **Gravity Seals**, to help train her muscles, so the feeling was quite familiar to her.

After a few hours of getting used to it, she raised the affects once more to around fifty times Earth's gravity.

Her intention for this training was to raise her base strength. Due to how she used her strength, raised her base strength would drastically increase her overall strength.

Riley utilized two different methods to amplify her overall strength. The first was the same method that all shinobi used, utilizing magic to amplify one's physical abilities, making them faster, stronger, and the like. These methods usually amplified a person's strength anywhere from three to ten times, on average, depending on the practitioner.

Riley had practiced enough get her method up to about eleven times her base strength, though in truth she hadn't worked on improving this ability since becoming a full demon, since at that moment her strength had amplified from her ascension, and she still had her second method to use as well so she didn't actually need greater strength.

Speaking of it, Riley's second method was the **Strength of One Hundred**, power she had learned from copying Tsunade. This ability allowed her to take her amplified strength and multiple the force she deliver from a given strike. It didn't technically make her stronger, but it increased the destructive power of her physical abilities.

And the due to the nature of both abilities, their effects stacked on top of each other. So if her strength could be counted as ten, then using her amplification ability, it would be one hundred and ten, multiplying it by eleven times. Then adding in the **Strength of One Hundred**, and the power behind it would be eleven thousand.

So with that in mind, raising her base strength, increased her overall strength by a serious magnitude.

There was a bit of a snag in the fact that her muscles did respond in the same way that a human's muscles would when put under strain. At it's most basic, a human puts strain on their muscles, muscles repair themselves better than they were before, said human gets stronger.

With Riley, every part of her body, was essentially hand designed. Her body, looked the way it did, because she wanted it to, and when she was injured, she didn't heal like a human would, instead her body actually regenerated, or reformed, to fit the shape it was meant to have, it was for that very reason that demons couldn't be killed by non-magical weapons. In essence, their bodies were completely under their control and such basic attacks as non-magical ones were easily adapted to.

Magical attacks, caused interactions with your opponents magic, pushed it back, tainted it, blocked it from repairing the damage. Magic was the only way to kill demons, and when it came to anything of the 'greater' category or above, you didn't just need magic, you also either had to destroy the demon's soul, or drain it of magic, because they could maintain their form, even without bodies, which lesser beings couldn't do.

Riley, being a full blooded demon, was the same way, her body was exactly how she wanted it, with little more than a thought, she could change it's shape. If she wanted to add things to it, that would take a bit longer since she'd have to create what she was adding, but say she wanted to be taller, she could make herself taller, say she wanted to changer her skin tone, she could alter her skin tone. All of it, was simply down to her preference.

It was one of the reasons her skin was flawless, in that she'd actually have to add flaws to it, if she wanted it to have some sort of flaws. It's why she didn't usually suffer from scars, because whenever she was damaged, her body repaired itself to the specification of her exact form.

This was also the main reasons she couldn't actually get stronger from working out. Even if she managed to tear her muscles, they would repair without improving, Riley had to intentionally improve upon herself.

While it was a detriment that her body didn't do this on it's own, demons were by far the most adaptive creatures in all of existence. The sheer number of forms they could inhabit was simply mind-boggling.

If Riley wanted to increase her base strength, she could simply make her muscles stronger, the issue was determining that strength. Simply making her muscles stronger wouldn't really help her, and would in fact be a detriment because she was already incredibly strong, and had to work very hard trying to be as gentle as possible around people, objects, and pretty much everything on Earth, because if she wasn't careful, she could accidentally leap off the ground so hard she shot into space, and leave behind a crater big enough to fit a building into.

Part of her paranoia surrounded keeping herself in check, so she always made sure she was well aware of her limits. So in improving her strength, she would have to remain keenly aware of just how strong she was, so she could continue to interact with the world, without breaking everything.

Without using magic to make it easier, Riley raised the gravity around her, and then slowly increased her muscle strength until it felt normal, until she didn't really feel it. She would then train a bit determine how much her strength had increased, and then she would do it again. Bit by bit, raising her strength, but never pushing it outside of her own comprehension. Knowing exactly what she was capable of, was how she kept her friends and family safe.

For the month, Riley spent her time raising her strength, and testing her new limits, the following month Riley spent time doing the opposite, practicing delicate interactions, and gentle movements and the like.

For the fifth month, Riley trained with her sword, practicing new moves, honing her style in duels against clones, all in all, just refining her abilities.

For the sixth month she focused on her martial arts abilities, doing the same to them. With her swordplay and her martial arts, she was only partially focused on improving her skills, but the other part of her focus was on refining her abilities in accordance with her newfound strength.

For the next three months she focused entirely on her magical control, honing her ability to manipulate magic and bend it to her will with various intensive exercises, and for the last three months of the first year, she practiced various spells, testing out new ones, developing new abilities, overall just increasing the various way she could use magic.

She then repeated her yearly training regiment.

Starting with endurance and resistance training, then reflexive training, and so on and so on, and she intended to continue with these exercises for the duration of the ten year training trip.

Each day of training, she spent almost on auto-pilot, going through the motions, pushing herself a bit harder, every day. In her mind she continued to picture her friends, her family, her precious newborn, all the people she wanted to protect. If anyone or anything in the world wanted to hurt them, they'd have to go through her, and Riley intended to make that as difficult as possible.

Each day she trained her ass off, going through the emotions, occasionally allowing an image that enraged her, to flash in her mind. Using the nightmarish scene shown to her by Orochimaru during the battle at Tenchi Bridge, Riley was able to keep her mind focused, whenever she began to get homesick.

She thought about her family constantly, especially her newborn baby. Many a time she considered cutting her training short and going back. No one would know about it, except for Kurama and the Darkness, and neither of them would really care, before going on this little trip, Riley had asked Alma to hop into the mind of the clone she left behind, just so she wouldn't be subjected to the ten years away from her own children.

Alma was fine with it, as the clone had been left to watch over baby Lucille and Alma liked her new baby sister.

That meant it was only Kurama, the Darkness, and Riley's familiars within **Kamui**. All of them being immortal and under the impression that a demon did whatever the hell it wanted, weren't going to judge her for choosing to end her training trip early and go home.

In the end, Riley always chose not to, as much as she wanted to spend every single second with that baby, she knew that getting this training done, would matter far more to Lucille's future, than one hour of her demonic sire hovering over her while she slept. Getting this done and out of the way with now, while she was still young, would mean that Riley wouldn't feel the need to do it again for quite a while.

Getting this long training trip out of the way could allow Riley to go on shorter ones for the foreseeable future. It wouldn't ultimately affect her time away, as most of her current trips to **Kamui** were measured in minutes on the outside even if they could be up to a month or two long on the inside, it would still make Riley feel better about her ability to keep something as fragile as a newborn safe in a world that was rapidly changing.

Time began to blur, as it often did, Riley's internal clock, often pinging at milestones, usually around every month or so, which was how she kept track of the time.

At around three years into her training trip, Riley began training with her familiars. She took the time to go over their abilities and see where she could improve upon them and adapt them to this changing world.

For Deimos and Midir, her two dragons, enhanced their durability and speed, for Deimos she granted him a poisoned breath attack, as well as the ability to generate shadow copies of himself, almost like making elemental clones, though these would be comprised of pure shadow, shaped like a massive dragon. For Midir she granted him the use of lightning release, in the form of an area of effect attack that would cause lightning to erupt from his wings and body and strike everything around him. She also gave Midir the ability to generate genjutsu to confound or confuse his targets.

For her champion Skorge, she granted him even greater speed, and increased his strength. She also taught him how to channel elements through his chainsaw staff, as well taught him a number of ninjutsu.

For RAAM, she also taught him ninjutsu, and granted him a summoning seal tied to her **Kamui** dimension that would allow him to summon the Kryll that she kept there. She also gave him the ability to command the Kryll

For the titanic Michael, she gave it the ability to use Earth Style, she also gave it the power to manipulate sound waves. It could now generate deafening noises, or even cancel out the sound it was making, allowing it to move silently, despite it's massive size.

When it came to Loki she increased the range of emotions his songs could produce in a person, instead of just making them feel dread, his songs could now invoke other emotions like sadness, depression, rage, and even paranoia. She also enhanced him basic combat abilities, giving him the ability to fight more like a devil could.

For Amygdala Riley gave it the ability to multiply itself, through generating copied familiars. These Lesser Amygdala, would only possess a tenth of the power of the original, but had the added ability to extending Amygdala's area of effect ability, that allowed it to warp reality. It took time to generate theses copies, usually Amygdala had to spend a few hours focusing to create these servants, but it could spread them out over a larger area and use it's control over them to warp a large space, essentially creating a pocket dimension within reality, and of course more Amygdala clones created a greater warping effect.

For the White Rabbit, she decided to turn it into an assassin. Since it still looked like a fluffy rabbit, even if it was caught in the act of devouring the flesh from a person's bones, who would believe it? Most magicals would think you were insane, the muggles would have been left far more dumbfounded.

When it came to the beastly Fenrir, Riley decided amped it's offensive abilities, giving it access to multiple secondary elements, like Ice Release, Blaze Release, Dust Release, Wood Release, Magnet Release, Lave Release, and Dark Release.

For the G, and the Nemesis Tyrants, she would have to wait to upgrade them as she hadn't brought them into **Kamui**, with her, they were both still being studied down in rapture, though she did intend to upgrade them when she got the chance.

And finally for the Gravemind, she gave it a remote telepathic ability, allowing it reach it's mind out to any individual that was within Riley's sensory range. This was a focused ability, so it didn't happen to everyone all at once, but using Riley's sensory abilities, the Gravemind could now reach out from her mind, and slowly crawl into the mind of someone else and begin downloading their memories.

She also intended to develop an ability to allow the Gravemind to intercept radio signals and listen to the information being passed through the air. After her training trip was over, she was gonna spend some time working on that one, giving the Gravemind the ability to hear messages being sent through the airways, and eventually, message sent via satellite communication, would allow her communications network to become an information hub for all of the world's data.

As another project, Riley also intended to find a way to give the Gravemind access to the Internet. The internet was really taking off, and a lot of information was finding it's way onto it, Riley wanted to give her second brain access to that info, right now the simplest idea was to find a quiet space and have a clone, that the Gravemind controlled, just scroll through web pages, but that wasn't overly efficient as she was constrained by an internet connection. She'd definitely have to work on that one too. Giving the Gravemind access to the muggle communication networks, and the internet, would cause it's intelligence to skyrocket, and that increase in intelligence would benefit her in the future, considering those that were tied to it, could ask it any question, and at that point, it was almost a guarantee that it would know that answer.

At about five years into her training trip, Riley began experimenting with all sorts of new abilities. She began going over the abilities that her and her children possessed, and worked on ways to incorporate some of their moves into her fighting style and adapting some of the moves she had learned from absorbing others. Even if they'd never be her main abilities, redundancy had always been Riley's forte. Even if you had two abilities that basically did the same thing, you never know when one may work and other wont.

The way magic responded, made even similar abilities vastly different from one another. For example the **Fireball Jutsu**, and fire elemental magic. The **Fireball Jutsu** did thermal damage, but it also did a bit of kinetic damage. The fireball didn't have weight or mass to it, yet it still delivered a punch, along with the fire. Fire elemental magic didn't have that same kinetic aspect to it. It was pure heat.

Both techniques could be used to create something visually the same, and yet both had their minor differences, that could cause a major difference on the battlefield. It was all about how magic was used to create these abilities, do it one way, and you get one result, do it another and you get another result.

So going over how her children fought she began to develop several new techniques from them. For instance, combing the **Hidden Mist Jutsu**, with Ice Release, created **Ice Release: Freezing Mist Jutsu**. An ability that created a dense fog of freezing mists that would chill an area rapidly to the point where it would begin freezing a person's body in a few moments.

She intended to share this new technique with Haku and Elsa when she returned. As she would every other ability she though they could use to enhance their powers.

Going off of some of her Water Style and Ice Release using family members, Riley developed a few more Ice Release techniques. One being an **Ice Release: Rasengan**, to compliment the **Ice Release: Rasenshuriken** that had originally been used as a combo technique between her and Elsa. She also created **Ice Release: Howling Strike**, a jutsu that would involve freezing over water that had paper bombs within it, and form piercing weapons out of the ice. It would then be lodged in an opponents body, and would detonate inside of them.

Using her understanding of **Dead Bone Pulse**, she developed **Ice Release: Sea of Agony.** A technique that mimicked **Dance of the Seedling Fern**, though it used Ice spears instead of bone. Another technique she developed was **Ice Release: Sword**. A simple jutsu that would allow the user to form water into a hardened sword of ice, for close range combat. The blade itself would be razor sharp and blindingly cold to the touch. She hoped that at least some of these techniques would be useful to Haku and Elsa, both of whom specialized in the use of Ice magic.

Another type of ninjutsu she invested time into was Dust Release. The sheer power behind it was incredible, the ability to annihilate anything confined within a three dimensional object, the only downsides were that it took a few moments to generate the object, and it required an incredible amount of magic and control. Luckily Riley had the latter in abundance, and using her tails she could easily generate an attack with Dust Release while fighting an opponent.

Riley had yet to encounter anything that could survive an attack by Dust Release. She'd used it on diamonds, on her own bones, on reinforced barriers, not even magical constructs could survive if they were hit by Dust Release. Being a combination of three different elements, and a Kekkei Tōta, meant that it's power was far greater than most other abilities in magic. The only things that came close were techniques like the **Truth-Seeking Balls**. Which were a combination of all five base elements, plus Yin, and Yang Release.

So with that in mind, Riley put her mind to developing a new way to utilize such a powerful technique.

Riley's first Dust release technique, was **Dust Release: Reformation of the Forgotten Earth. **This Technique involved using Dust Release and a **Shadow Clone**, as a form of suicide technique, where the clone would grab hold on a target and using her free appendages, whether it be her tails or her hands, she would create a dome of Dust Release around her and the target and annihilate both of them.

Another technique she made was **Dust Release: Fading Hope of the Fallen.** This technique involved Riley shaping a three-dimensional object made of Dust Release and placing it inside of a clone's body. The clone would then keep the object compressed in it's smaller form and attack it's enemy, the end result being that when the clone was destroyed, the Dust Release object would then expand and activate, trapping the aggressor within the object and destroying them.

The latter was born as a sort of evolution of the former.

Beyond the Dust Release, Riley began developing ways of utilizing the **Truth-Seeking Balls**, in conjunction with certain ninjutsu, and practicing using them to unleash a particular form of magic through them, almost like extensions of her body.

At around seven years into her training, Riley found herself learning to summon lesser demons to serve her. She learned from the Darkness how to call forth very minor entities, that could act as servants, protectors, or assistants in battle. She learned how to call upon the Darklings, summoning them forth from the recesses of the Darkness's mind.

They were loyal servants, though seeing them in action and learning what they could do, convinced Riley to begin working on creating her own army of servants, that could assist with similar tasks.

With her training trip closing in on it's final legs, Riley found her excitement growing, she was very eager to get back to her mates, and her newborn, after spending so much time away from them. Thankfully, her training trip had born fruit, and she felt stronger than she was before. She felt more in control over her powers, she felt more secure in the knowledge that she could defend her loved ones from any threat that came about, all in all, it seemed that this training trip was worth it.

It was around eight years into the training trip, where Riley found herself sitting on a rock meditating, floating high in the sky above her were a number of large spheres of earth, constructed using **Chibaku Tensei**.

Her Zanpakutō lay across her lap, as she meditated, her mind reflecting on her abilities, and what she could do in the remainder of her time here to further improve herself.

"**You spend quite a lot of time worrying about your ability to protect the ones you love, despite all of the power you possess.**"A familiar voice stated, causing Riley's eyes to snap open.

Floating before her was Ralael. The spirit of her Zanpakutō. Riley stared up at the spirit for several long moments, taking noted that her giant spheres of earth were no longer hovering in the sky, indicating that they were speaking in Riley's mind.

"Come to teach another lesson?" Riley inquired, rising to her feet.

"**Indeed. I have a lesson to teach today. This training trip of yours, has led to a lot of reflecting on your loved ones and your ability to protect them from any threat. Allow me to show you the true extent of your affections for them. It's time to embrace the infinite expanse of the multiverse."** Ralael responded, and Riley felt power course out form her sword, wrapping around her, clouding her sight and senses.

**-?-**

It took a few moments, but she suddenly found herself standing atop a cliff overlooking a darkened battlefield.

In the midst of this great battlefield was an army of shinobi engaged in battle against the monstrous Ten-Tails. Riley watched as they fought against the beast being led by a glowing golden figure. Activating her **Byakugan**, she was able to get a closer look and could tell that this figure was her twin Naruko.

She had activated some sort of **Tailed Beast Mode**, similar to Riley's, and was using the Nine Tails' chakra. From what Riley could tell it almost looked like she had only half of Kurama's power, the Yin half, and she was using it to lead her allies against the Ten-Tails, aided by the Eight Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee, in his **Tailed Beast Transformation.**

Doing a quick search around, Riley found a reanimated Hashirama and Madara, engaged in a dual not far from the main battlefield. Both titans were going all out, unleashing some of their strongest attacks against one another.

Furthering her gaze she located another duel occurring. This one was between Narumi Namikaze and Minato Namikaze.

With the way the two were going at it, it was obvious they were trying to kill one another. For the briefest moment, Riley wondered if she was somehow in the same 'what-if' timeline she had encountered before, but she soon squashed that thought as she felt the raw hatred her alternate self felt towards Minato.

This was definitely not the same timeline as the one she had been too before.

"**A single drop in the pond is enough to alter the course of fate. Where one was loved, this one walked a much more familiar path, but what changed I wonder? Who is she, to you?"** Ralael inquired, it's voice speaking in Riley's mind.

Riley was silent for a moment as she focused on the fight, after several moments she sat down and focused her senses on the duel between Minato and Narumi.

Doing this, she was able to hear what they were saying as she watched the fight play out.

"You need to stop this Narumi! You're angry at me, and I understand, but you can't just lash out at the entire world. There are innocent people who are in danger because of this. You have to stop!" Minato tried to reason with her as the two traded blows. This Narumi was almost a mirror image of her counterpart that Riley had encountered during her last trip into a what-if. The only major different was that this Narumi seemed a bit younger, and she sported several scars on her face, indicating a long history of battle.

Her **Rinnegan** blazed with rage as she lashed out at Minato, unleashed a **Shinra Tensei** that send him skidding away from her.

"You think a few simple words will be enough to forgive everything you put me through? I suffered alone, while you and your family basked in the glow of my sacrifices. You allowed yourself to forget that it was my body that held the dark half of the fox, that I was the one who killed Voldemort! You left a child alone to suffer, you left me to be beaten, starved, harassed, and tortured at the hands of your precious villagers, and you think I'll give a damn about innocent people!? I was innocent once, and no one gave a shit about me, so I think I'll return the favor." Narumi snarled in response, lashing out at him with a fire style technique.

"I know what I did was wrong! I'm sorry, Narumi! If you have to take it out on someone, take it out on me, but don't let the world suffer for my wrong-doings. Be the better person." Minato tried to urge her, vanishing in a burst of speed, and appearing behind her, placing his kunai to her neck, only to receive a gut-busting elbow to the stomach that left him off balance enough for Narumi to slip away.

"Always the fucking hero! Always the good guy! Always the man who puts his life on the life for the poor, helpless little fuckers who can't protect themselves! You know I never really understood what true selfishness was, until I came to understand you. You think so highly of yourself, that you believe your sacrifice will make the world a better place. You think that your existence is so great, that by putting it on the line, it'll somehow undo all the wrongs in the world. You have no idea what it's like to live in despair. You have no idea what it's like to be nothing. Before you die, I'll show you just how much you matter." Narumi hissed as they continued their battle.

Riley continued to watch their battle, letting out a low sigh as she did.

"_This version of me, seems to have endured the same treatment that I did. The question is what changed between us for her to find herself here. Well… might as well ask."_ Riley thought to herself, rising to her feet, and hopping from the cliff.

In a rush of speed she found herself between Minato and Narumi, stopping their fight with her sudden appearance.

"What the hell?" Narumi growled out in surprise.

"Who… Narumi?" Minato questioned as he caught sight of her face.

"Name's Riley. Sorry to see that some things don't change." Riley responded, unleashed a blast of pure magic that send Minato flying away from the two of them as she turned her attention to Narumi.

Her alternate self quickly fell into a battle stance, ready to fight, confusion still clouded her eyes as she glared at Riley, but she wasn't willing to lower her guard, even in the face of this strange occurrence.

"Who the hell are you?" Narumi demanded.

"I'm you from another time, I'm curious as to what's going on. Are you just here to get some good old fashioned revenge, or are you more interested in Madara's Project Tsuki No Me?" Riley inquired curiously.

"I'm not in the mood to chat. So how's about you fuck off for the moment, and let me finish my work." Narumi snapped.

"**Hmm… so this is what you'd be like if you were more of a cunt. Fascinating."** Kurama mused.

"_I don't think that is what Ralael wanted me to take away from this."_ Riley thought.

Her counterpart quickly rushed at her, only for Riley to leap back from her attack, avoiding it and leveling a hard look at her alternate self.

"You know if this plan succeeds, everyone, everywhere, loses their free will?" Riley noted.

"I don't care about everyone else. Who are you to say that any of them matter at all?" Narumi snarled, reaching her hand out and using **Banshō Ten'in,** to pull Riley towards her.

Riley countered the move by driving her tails into the ground and launching a black chakra receiver right at Narumi, who let out a curse as she dodged the projectile.

"You don't care about anyone? What about uncle Remus? Kakashi? Shisui? Itachi? What about your friends, or your mates?" Riley demanded, as she settled on the ground.

Narumi glared at her, her eyes darkening in response to Riley's question. Her reaction earned a curious look from Riley, as she took in her counterpart's rage.

"They abandoned you too?" Riley guessed, earning a scream of frustration and anger from Narumi.

"They betrayed me! Said I was dark, that I was evil! They blamed me for everything bad that happened to them! Why couldn't you do this! Why couldn't you do that! Why couldn't you have saved them! Everyone always blames me!" Narumi roared with rage, her body igniting with golden chakra as she activated her own **Tailed Beast Mode**.

Riley stared back at her, taking note that she held the other half of Kurama's chakra. It seemed that in this reality, instead of splitting the fox into power, body, and soul, it was instead split directly in half.

In a burst of incredible speed, Narumi rushed forward, attempting to blitz Riley. Her increased speed may have been able to push Riley before her training, but after undergoing her recent reflex training, Riley was easily able to keep up with her parallel self.

Riley side stepped a punch, and countered with one of her own, surprising Narumi with her reaction time.

The two traded blows for a few more moments as Riley pondered the situation.

"**Seems like things never worked out for her. Shit just kept rolling downhill.**" Kurama mused.

"_Yeah, seems like it. She seems almost possessed by this idea of revenge. I'm curious, was it really just fate that people continued to treat her like garbage, or was there something more?"_ Riley wondered, countering an incoming **Rasengan**, with one of her own, the resulting explosion sending both of the flying away from one another.

"**Hmm… well she isn't a full demon, but she is a half-blood, so the who Voldemort thing happened. And if she was able to bond our magics together, like you and I did, that means that she worked out a reasonable relationship with me, despite being so angry."** Kurama noted.

"_Wanna ask yourself what's going on?"_ Riley inquired.

"**Sure."** Kurama responded before reaching out to his alternate self within Narumi.

The two Tailed Beasts appeared before one another, Narumi's Kurama sitting in a meditative state, attempting to focus his energy for their fusion technique.

"**Hey… sorry to intrude like this, but I was wondering about a few things. Got a moment?"** Kurama inquired to himself.

"**This is surreal. What are you even doing here?" **Narumi's Kurama asked in response.

"**Riley's magic sword brought her here to learn something. Given what it's last lesson was about, I'm guessing this has something to do with an understanding about herself, so if you want to get rid of us, why don't you tell me a bit about your Narumi. I'm sure you can tell that despite her formidable strength, Narumi isn't nearly as powerful as Riley is.**" Kurama answered, earning a focused look from her alternate self.

For several long moments the two stared at each other, before finally Narumi's Kurama let out a sigh, and began to explain Narumi's life story to Riley's Kurama.

Meanwhile, on the outside, Riley continued to duel with herself until an ear-shattering roar stopped the two.

Both turned their gazes towards the Ten-Tails which was now focusing it's attention onto Riley.

"_It must sense the power I absorbed from it. It doesn't seem to be under the control of that Archdevil though."_ Riley noted as the Ten-Tails began to rush towards her, letting out a roar of rage as it ignored the army of shinobi and focused it's attention onto her.

Riley let out a growl at that and quickly sped through hand signs. It took only a moment for her finish, and when she did she slammed her hands together and called out "**Wood Style: Greater Wood Dragon Jutsu!"**

From the earth behind her, a massive wooden construct erupted from the earth. Like a typical **Wood Dragon Jutsu**, this technique was scaled up to a much higher level, creating a massive construct that took the form of a Chinese Dragon.

The massive entity rose high into the air before arching and encircling the Ten-Tails, retraining it and pulling it to the ground, halting it's advancing.

The Ten-Tails let out a roar of rage and struggled against it's restraints while Riley, focused her energy into hardening the Wood Dragon to keep it from breaking.

Right as she finished, she caught a kick to the side of the head that sent her flying a hundred yards.

"Fuck this version of me really is a cunt." Riley muttered as she shook her head a few times, quickly reorienting after the kick from her alternate self.

She focused her gaze onto the glowing golden form of Narumi who stalked towards her, eyes alight with fury.

"**I think you're pissing her off."** Kurama noted with a chuckle.

"_Well she's doing the same to me. I honestly don't give a damn about this battle, I'd leave if I could but unfortunately I don't think I'm going anywhere until I figure out what Ralael wants me to learn from this._" Riley thought back.

"**Any ideas as of yet?"** Kurama inquired.

"_She's obviously more pissed off than I am which is saying a lot because she's only a half-demon. Aside from that, it seems like she never got over what happened to her as a child. It's almost like instead of just dropping the Leaf like a bad habit, she obsessed over it."_ Riley noted as she cracked her neck and prepared to receive the incoming assault from her alternate self.

"**Yeah. That's what I got from talking to her Kurama. It sounds like your childhoods were basically the same, but she dealt with it more poorly than you did. And I think I might know the cause. You remember when ANBU Root attacked you after you and Remus left the village?" **Kurama asked.

"_Yeah, I remember." _Riley thought back as Narumi rushed at her, again trying to blitz past her defenses with her speed.

Riley instantly countered her attack, catching the fist aimed for her face and delivering a kick of her own that sent Narumi tumbling head over heels backwards, and away from Riley.

"**Well it doesn't sound like Remus made it through that attack. In fact it doesn't sound like any backup ever came. The ANBU Root managed to kill Remus and momentarily capture you, only for you to reawaken your Rinnegan and use Shinra Tensei to butcher them all in a fit of rage. It also didn't hurt that you had half of my power at the time, instead of just my body and soul.**" Kurama explained what he had learned from his alternate self.

"_Damn… I guess that explains her fury. She lost Shisui, and got mixed up in the Uchiha massacre, went through all the trouble of leaving with one of the only people that mattered to her, only for him to be killed later that same day. She has plenty of reason to hate them, but I'm still curious as to what Ralael wants me to see. It sounds like this version of me, simply had it worse."_ Riley thought to herself, as Narumi leaped into the air and unleashed a fireball jutsu at her.

The fireball swelled larger and larger, increasing in size until it was nearly a hundred feet across.

"_I remember when I was this strong. Feels almost like a lifetime ago."_ Riley thought to herself as she raised a hand and absorbed the attack utilizing the **Preta Path**. As she absorbed the incoming fireball she took note of how easy this all was. Despite her counterparts speed and strength, this fight felt almost trivial. Riley's powers had most definitely grown since absorbing the Ten-Tails, and the last seven years of non-stop training had helped to hone her incredible power, once more bringing it closer to what it was before the final battle of the Fourth Shinobi War.

"**She still ended up at Hogwarts, but must much more reclusive and introverted than you ever were. Being on her own for almost four years, without Remus there to look after her, led her to being much worse off. She didn't trust anyone, she didn't try to make friends or allies, from the sounds of it, she became like a carbon copy of a younger Madara. Angry, resentful, though she lacked something that he possessed back then."** Kurama noted, as Narumi charged up a **Bijuu Dama**, and prepared to unleash it onto Riley.

"_She didn't have any hope for a better future."_ Riley guessed, as Narumi fired the attack at her.

Riley held up her hand, ready to absorb the attack again, only for a half dozen Narumi clones to appear around her, each armed with a **Black Chakra Receiver**.

Riley loose with **Shinra Tensei**, sending all of the clones flying backwards while her tails arced through the air and shoved the incoming **Bijuu Dama **away from her, sending it careening through the air, to explode far off in the distance.

"_Ralael wants me to learn something, to understand something by seeing this what-if. Last time I got a look at what it would be like if my life had been better, but that wasn't the whole point of the lesson. Ralael's true lesson was that even though her life may have had some better qualities than mine, her life wasn't the one that I wanted. That heroic Narumi had a great life, but it wasn't meant for me. Ralael's lesson from that was that my life made me who I am, and if my parents had loved me, I wouldn't be the same person anymore._" Riley thought to herself

"**That's right. So… what is it that you need to learn from this one?"** Kurama asked in reply.

"_I think I might know… but I need to hear something for myself."_ Riley responded, as she shot forward, letting loose a bit, as she far less concerned with this world, since it wasn't her own.

Moving at much greater speed than she normally would outside of **Kamui**, Riley reappeared behind Narumi, her movements taking her counterpart by surprise.

It was obvious that Narumi could track her movements with the **Rinnegan's** sensory ability, but she lacked the enhanced perception of the **Rinne-Sharingan**. Using her impressive speed, granted to her by her **Tailed Beast Mode**, Narumi was able to spin around in time to block Riley's punch, catching it in her hand.

She used her forearm to block the follow-up strike and the two proceeded to trade blows at hypersonic speeds, the air was soon filled with ear-shattering cracks as they repeatedly broke the sound barrier with their movements, neither one of them caring about quieting themselves, or avoiding air resistance.

From the sidelines, Minato Namikaze watched the battle unfold, dumbfounded by what was happening. Not far off, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had both stopped their battle to take note of the massively powerful presence that was now dueling Narumi.

Both of them focused their attention onto the battle, and on the Ten-Tails which was currently struggling against the massive wood dragon that was pinning it to the ground.

"I'm curious, did you ever try to make friends or were you content to just live alone?" Riley inquired, her words drawing surprise from Narumi, followed quickly by fury.

"You think you know me? You don't know anything!" Narumi hissed out, as the two continued to trade blow after blow.

"I do know you. I walked a similar path once, but at some point we made different choices in life. I know you had it hard, but I'm curious about when you decided to wallow in your own sadness?" Riley asked, earning even more rage from her counterpart.

"You say that like it's no big deal! Like the suffering I endured didn't matter! You have no idea what I lost! You have no idea how I feel!" Narumi roared at her, gathering up energy in her hand for a close range **Bijuu Dama**.

"**She doesn't seem to have much care for her own self-preservation."** Kurama noted, as Narumi drove the sphere at Riley, only for Riley to activate her **Intangibility **and allow the attack to phase right through her.

Riley leaped away from Narumi, watching her with calculating eyes.

"You lost people you loved. I understand that. You spent your whole life wallowing in anger, and rage. Did you ever try to be happy? Did you ever try to fill that hole in your heart?" Riley asked, as she began to understand what truly separated the two of them.

Narumi glared at her, rage and hatred burning within her eyes.

"You didn't. After Remus died, after you were left alone, you chose to close off your heart. You chose vengeance over life." Riley realized, reflecting on her own life, and how it might've been different had she chosen this same path.

This Narumi had chosen to be angry, after everything she suffered. Where Riley had cast aside the village and her old family, instead focusing on filling her heart with new attachments. This Narumi had chosen to despise her family, and the village. She had chosen to hate them, and actively sought to destroy them.

Riley had only turned to vengeance when her loved ones had been threatened. She all three of her attacks on Konoha had ultimately come about due to other people. She attacked Danzo to avenge Shisui, she recused Naruko from her suffering, and she retaliated after the Leaf government attacked her friends and lovers.

She had always hated them, there was no doubt about that. She hated the village, she hated her parents, and at times she even hated her twin. But after she had left, she was content to show them all up. She was more than happy to forget that the Hidden Leaf village even existed, and she was content with outshining her parents, her godmother, and even her twin. By proving she was stronger than all of them, Riley had gotten her revenge.

Narumi was different. She had chosen a much more bloody path, after her losses. And now she was here, working with Madara to initiate the Eye of the Moon Plan.

Narumi had chosen to allow darkness to rule her life and because of that, people naturally held her at a distance. As sad as it may be, people are generally put-off by those that brood, and shy away from social interaction. When you give off the aura of someone who is pissed off and ready to snap at any moment, people tend to treat you as such.

It wasn't Narumi's fault, not entirely. But that was how the world worked. It took a special kind of strength to approach someone so angry and so aggressive. It took a lot to look past there flaws and find the source of their pain. Unfortunately, without someone who understood her past, Narumi was forced to endure the pain of growing up alone, with nothing more than a demon, and a dead man to keep her company.

In a way, despite their lives having some differences, what really separated the two of them was their willingness to try again. Riley left her childhood behind and sought to build a better life for herself, meanwhile Narumi had chosen to allow vengeance to decide who she was.

Riley leaped back, putting distance between her and Narumi as she took in this understanding.

"You're who I would have been, had I chosen revenge, over my own happiness. We suffered any yet, circumstances led you to making a different choice for how to live your life. I think I understand now." Riley noted, her words making little sense to the enraged half-demon, who quickly spat out a curse and charged at her, only for Riley to disappear in a burst of incredible speed and reappear right behind Narumi who's eyes widened in disbelief.

"And I think I understand the true revelation here. You haven't pushed me once. Strong as you may be, I'm a lot stronger. I'm stronger because I have things in my life worth living for. I have a reason to exist, beyond the death of others. Despite my own anger, despite my rage, despite my suffering, I chose to live, despite it all. And I'm stronger for it." Riley noted with understanding.

"What the hell are you?" Narumi growled, glancing over her shoulder at Riley.

"A what-if for you. Nothing more. Go on, and bring about your apocalypse. I hope in doing so it brings you some measure of comfort." Riley answered before vanishing in another burst of speed.

She quickly reappeared on the cliff she had arrived at and glanced back down at the battle, releasing her grip on the Ten-Tails and dispersing her wood dragon.

She found Narumi staring up at her location, confusion filling her eyes as she met Riley's gaze, even at this distance.

"**You understand now?"** Ralael inquired.

"_I do. She is who I would have been, had I sworn revenge on the Hidden Leaf and focused my life on destroying them._" Riley answered.

"**She is a reflection of the violence in your heart. But where as you control it, she is consumed by it. She is no more spiteful than you, and yet, here you stand, towering over her. You control your anger, and rage, you decide your own fate."** Ralael responded as magic bubbled out from Riley's sword, encasing her and bringing her back into her mindscape.

**-Riley's Head, Kamui-**

Riley found herself standing before the spirit of her sword, the two facing one another.

"The first time you showed me a life where my parents loved me. And I learned that even if they had loved me, I wouldn't have been as happy as I am now. This time you've showed me who I could have been, had I decided to let my anger rule me, rather than choosing to live my own life." Riley stated, eyeing the entity with curiosity.

"**Indeed. Has this granted you any clarity as to my true name, or my power?"** Ralael inquired.

"I'm obviously going to other times, when you show me these what-ifs. I'm visiting other realms, meaning you have some power over time travel. Yet that isn't your only power, as my Shikai state is more directed towards energy transfer, this lesson hasn't shown me much, to be honest." Riley admitted in response.

"**Do not concern yourself. This is only the second lesson of nine. You're smart, but the road ahead is still concealed, I would be very surprised if you understood what I was this early. Though perhaps a greater clue lies in your Shikai state." **The angel stated.

Riley was silent for a moment before raising her sword and running her gaze along it.

Recalling the last time this had happened, how Ralael had commanded that she envision the heroic Narumi in her mind, this time, Riley envisioned the vengeful Narumi.

**-Kamui-**

Riley opened her eyes, and stared out across the expanse of her pocket dimension. Rising to her feet she held her sword before her.

"Bare witness to this wicked world, Unleash Chaos, Ralael!" Riley intoned, causing the blade to erupt into light and begin to reform.

To Riley's surprise, instead of shaping into it's gunblade form, her Zanpakutō took on an entirely new form.

This form was that of a one-handed warhammer. It had a shaft of long dark metal, and the hammer itself was forged of blackened iron that seemed almost burned. The striking side of the hammer looked almost like a large meat tenderizer, with protrusions to that would drive into a target, while being struck with it.

Opposite the striking size was a large mechanism, similar in shape to the firing hammer on a revolver.

Pulling back the hammer revealed that it set into a small round space that fed into the striking side of the hammer.

This space almost looked like it could be loaded with some sort of ammunition. **(Shorter One-Handed Boom Hammer, Bloodborne.)**

"**Um… your Shikai state is different."** Kurama noted.

"_Because I envisioned the Narumi we just met, rather than the one we met during our first trip._" Riley responded as she examined the weapon.

"**So your Shikai state changes, depending on the version of you, you're thinking about when you activate it. Meaning there's nine forms in total, if each lesson correlates to a different version of you."** Kurama surmised, earning a nod of agreement from Riley.

"Which would also mean that the elemental basic for my Zanpakutō isn't something as simple as a basic element, or even energy manipulation. The question is, how can it change it's form and properties, while maintaining one aspect to represent as it's power?" Riley noted aloud as she traced her fingers along the warhammer.

"**That is the question. Knowing that answer will help you to learning my name. Now, allow me to show you how this version of your weapon functions.**" Ralael stated within Riley's mind.

Riley allowed her speculation to end, and turned her focus inward, ready to take in everything the spirit had to show her. Two lessons down, seven to go. She still had plenty of time to figure out the secrets behind her Zanpakutō, and what it truly represented.

Over the next few days Riley began to learn how this new form of her Zanpakutō functioned. Where the gunblade form channeled magic at it's purest form, as raw energy, the warhammer form, was used as an instrument of pure raw destruction.

Aside from functioning as a normal warhammer, it also had the ability to deliver an incredible magical punch that left even Riley dumbfounded at it's potential. In the loading chamber Riley could place any form of magic within it. Then she could prime the firing hammer and whatever she hit next would receive a magical blast, the coincided with whatever magic she had placed in the loading chamber.

If she placed fire magic into it, then a massive blast of fire would erupt as soon as she slammed it into a target. If she placed water magic into it, a deluge of water would erupt like a geyser. Air, an air blast, earth, a rock blast, lightning, an electrical surge, but the base base elements weren't the only types of magic that could be stored within it.

Whatever magic she put into the loading chamber, was altered into a percussive blast of energy with the properties of whatever magic she put into it.

Meaning if she loaded a **Reducto **into the loading chamber, than the following strike would be augmented with a blasting curse.

It's use was relatively simple, just cast a spell into the loading chamber, prime the firing hammer and than thwack something and boom, magical explosion.

It was a weapon of immense power, as the stronger the spell, the more powerful the explosion, and Riley took great pleasure in practicing with different types of spells to get different affects.

Even to the point of placing the **Killing Curse**, into the loading chamber and envisioning herself literally knocking the soul out of a person's body.

She spent many months within **Kamui** practicing with this new version of her Zanpakutō, and also came to learn that there was a reasonable time limit between the use of different states. For instance if she wanted to use the gunblade form, and then switch to the warhammer form, she would first need to revert the sword back to it's sealed state and give it time to reset it's awakening. It took about ten minutes for the reset to happen meaning that when Riley activated the weapon's form, she had to basically be certain that she was picking the one she wanted, otherwise she might now get a chance to switch it again before the fight was over.

With the second of nine lessons learned, Riley added her Zanpakutō's new form to her retinue of training, while also taking time to reflect on her first two lessons, as well as speculating on future ones.

She was beginning to suspect that her sword's spirit intended for her to compare all of these other versions of her, to herself, and reflect on how their choices and or circumstances had led them down certain paths that Riley could have walked, had she encountered similar situations.

It may have been to early to tell, but she suspected she was on the right track with it's motivation, at least in part.

For the remaining three years of Riley's training trip she continued her routine, enhancing her abilities and honing her powers even further. Slowly but surely, Riley felt her control and skill increase, and she was slowly becoming more assured that her control would soon reflect what it once was before absorbing the Ten-Tails and ascending to the ninth tail.

As the final days of her training rolled around, Riley found herself reflecting on her life and the choices that he led her to this position. There were so many times she could have done things differently, she could have embraced her demonic nature, she could have become the villain outright and even brought the world under her control if she wanted too. Instead she chose to live a more compact life, focusing on those she loved, and those that made her life so enjoyable.

Eventually the final day of her training came about and Riley spent it doing nothing but priming her focus and ensuring that she had control over her increased strength. She spent the entire day plucking flowers, caressing leaves, doing basic drawings with a brush, and performing other precise and gentle movements, to ensure that when she returned to her newborn, she wouldn't have to worry about hurting the child accidentally.

With her confidence assured Riley exited her pocket dimension, returning to her beloved family.

**-Riley's Home, London, England.-**

Riley spent the entire night cradling her baby in her arms. The moment she returned to her home she relieved her clone, and picked up the slumbering newborn. She then found comfortable spot in the corner of her bedroom to sit and hold the baby.

In the back of her mind, she noted that despite all this time away, she didn't feel the need to mate with her lovers, the birth of little Lucille had settled those urges at least for the moment. With that in mind, Riley was able to enjoy the quiet calm of her slumbering mates, and the quiet breathing of her beloved newborn.

-**September 27****th**** 1999-**

The following morning, Fleur was gently shaken awake by Katie. Fleur blinked the sleep out of her eyes and glanced at Katie who motioned for her to stay quiet and glanced over to a far corner of the room.

Fleur slowly sat up and followed Katie's gaze, finding it drawn to an adorable sight.

She found Riley sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the bedroom. Held against her chest was baby Lucille. Riley was quietly humming to the infant, a gentle tune that was only slightly off key. Riley had never been overly good at music, and she couldn't sing at all, she had only recently started developing an ear for it when she started to learn to play instruments like the violin. She seemed to be humming some sort of lullaby, though Fleur didn't recognize it.

The sight of her wife gently cradling their baby, humming a song to her while she slept, melted Fleur's heart and she couldn't help but smile.

Riley finished her humming and glanced up at them, smirking at the sight of three of her mates staring at her, as Kaede had also woken up due to the movement and had seen Riley's care-giving.

"I've got a busy day so I wanted to spend some time with her. Why don't you take some time to get ready, eat breakfast and the like, before we have to trade off." Riley offered to Fleur earning a nod from her as she crawled across the bed, and moved across the room to offer her wife and child a gentle kiss.

She couldn't helped the pleasant sigh that left her lips as she kissed Riley.

Ever since becoming a demon, Riley had been able to transfer her emotions through touch, and so her kisses often felt quite pleasant to her mates, this morning though, Fleur could feel an interesting cascade of emotions, that made couldn't help but make her smile.

Riley was so calm, and peaceful right now. Her focus was almost entirely on baby Lucille, and from what Fleur could feel through the kiss, Riley was very happy right now.

Giving her wife and daughter a smile, Fleur quickly joined Katie in the bathroom, eager to get ready for the day. Having just given birth a few days prior, Fleur was off of work for a few weeks so it wouldn't take her that long to get ready for the day.

Riley meanwhile returned to humming to Lucille while her mates began to awaken and prepare for their days. Eventually Fleur returned and Riley felt comfortable in placing the baby back in her crib and heading out to meet up with Artoria for the day's work.

**\- September 30th 1999-**

No one really noticed any changes in Riley, how she seemed to be intentionally acting far more gentle around object than usual, or if they did, it wasn't brought up. She was able to keep her long training trip a secret and was easily able to move on from it without having to receive a scolding from her mates.

Over the following days, Riley continued to work on making sure she was gentle around objects, so that she didn't accidentally break anything. This process was made easier by focusing on less physical activities such as aiding Artoria and Daphne in building a new country.

Riley spent a lot of time visiting Sunagakure and Kumogakure, reaffirming both village's alliances with them and the new nation of Albion.

While both were naturally surprised to hear about the changes, they were both committed to maintaining the alliance they had constructed, though they were rather nervous with the prospect of soon having to endure the muggle world entering into the Elemental Nations.

While Albion kept quiet about it's location, someone would no doubt leak the location of the access point and where the hidden continent was located. With all the craziness going on, Yugito was scheduled to be transferred back to Albion early, which Riley had no complaints about.

She looked forward to spending more time with the woman, and potentially building a deeper relationship with her.

Elsewhere in the world, individuals like Superman were really starting to make names for themselves as the so called 'Man of Steel' began to offer his aid outside of what was apparently his home in Metropolis.

Already he was earning quite the hero status as he stopped a passenger plane from falling out of the sky due to a bird strike, as well as rescuing people from an oil rig that caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico.

He seemed like an alright person, appearing the Daily Planet's news station for a brief interview after rescuing people from a burning building in Metropolis. When asked by the reporter about his affiliation with the magical world, the man simply smiled, and replied that he admired the magicals in Britain for stepping out of the shadows to help people when they needed it, and that he was just following in their example. He offered that while he wasn't one of them, he did believe that it would be for the betterment of all people, if everyone simply worked together.

Of course when asked what he was if not a magical, he simply smiled, and then darted off, vanishing into the sky.

At almost the same time, a man in Central City, people were now calling the Flash, due to his incredible speed, was also doing what he could to help people in need. When asked if he was a magical, he simply laughed and said maybe, he didn't really know for certain where his powers came from, only that he had them. He offered little else to the reporters who questioned him, instead offering them a PSA on helping each other and being good.

Hell their were even videos capturing Riley's old pal John, using his green ring of power to help people out. It seemed like the reveal of magic was drawing all sorts of people out of the wood works, and it was enough to momentarily distract the populace while Albion began to grow in power.

**-October 5th, 1999-**

An uprising of radicals within the countryside rose up decrying the new regime as heretical and satanic. It was a sudden outburst of violence from a group of extremists, who took a dozen people hostage during a sort of town hall meeting.

The event quickly caused a media firestorm, as did the response that was given when Artoria asked the Legion to handle it quickly.

As the radicals prepared to hunker down within the town hall armed with shotguns and sub-machine guns, they were quickly overtaken and killed by Legionnaires who cut a hole in the roof and snuck inside. With a Hyuuga on hand to inform them on where the enemies were, it was a quick and easy action to drop from the ceiling rafters right onto the radicals, and slit their throats.

All in all, it took the legionaries about twenty minutes in total to plan, coordinate, and then execute the operation. It was over before anyone even realized what had happened.

None of the radicals survived, and all of the hostages had been rescued, people quickly declared it a tremendous win for the new magical government, proving it's ability to handle internal threats.

Not long afterwards, word finally reached the populace that during the Fourth Great Shinobi War, an army of devils was summoned to fight with the Akatsuki, during the final days of the war.

This demonic invasion had been stopped thanks to their victory, though it had caused massive destruction, including the collapse of the Land of Fire's government due to the attack there.

This new information about invasions from external threats really set people on edge, and it stirred up quite a bit of discussion as more information leaked on just how much power the new Albion government had due to the number of Bijuu they had access to.

It was the fifth of October when a statement was release from the Pope himself, warning of the dangers of magic, and of what it could do. Despite the miracles that could be accomplished, far more harm then good, came from magic, and people should be naturally worried.

This warning drew a lot of outcry, especially from the Church of England, who believed his words to be a direct attack on their new government. A feeling that was mirrored by Artoria, who knew of the Vatican's attempts to capture Riley, and of their presence in London during Millennium's attack.

It was an area of concern, one that wasn't going to allow for peaceful coexistence between either group until the tensions were resolved.

Unfortunately, it was a fight for later, and Artoria was forced to focus on more direct concerns.

**-October 10th 1999-**

There was beginning to be a noticeable shift in the attitudes on people around the world. As more information about dark magic began to emerge, people began to grow more fearful. Learning that magicals could invade a person's mind, mind control them, raise the dead as zombies, cause massive amounts of destruction, and even break the laws of reality, really set people on edge, and the more they learned, the more fearful people became of their own magical communities.

Reports were showing up in the news from all over the world, that people were gathering in protest of certain magical governments, and magical societies, there was even word that in certain places, magicals were starting to be ostracized for their abilities.

The awe was wearing off and was being replaced by fear and mistrust.

It was less of a problem in some places, like in the US, but in others, it was becoming a problem.

Even within Albion's borders, people were starting to question things, and make unfounded accusations. Artoria was on the news almost daily performing rallies and making addresses to help unify the people, and at least on that front, things seemed to be working in their favor.

Artoria's charismatic, and chivalrous aura, helped to settle people's fears and further unite the country.

Beyond their borders though, people were openly worried about all of the power that Artoria now wielded. Not only was Albion now a magical nuclear power, but it had three of the Bijuu, and it's new ruler was a fifteen hundred year old knight, who no doubt fought in countless wars, and this knight intended to marry a former child soldier who had reportedly killed tens of thousands during the Fourth Shinobi War.

**-October 12th 1999-**

Riley spent most of her time either helping Artoria and Daphne, or with her family. In truth she hadn't slept in weeks, spending every hour either helping with the growing situation in the world, or with Lucille and her family.

Luckily she had her family around to take care of the newborn and offer the baby all of the love and affection that Riley wanted to give but couldn't be around to do so.

Still, Riley spent almost every night, while Artoria and Daphne slept, cradling the baby in her arms, humming to her and making sure the newborn felt safe and happy.

Yugito had been transferred back which Riley was happy about, and she spent a lot of time with Artoria now, her role as an ambassador really taking precedent now as things became rather tense on the world stage.

**-October 15th 1999-**

Whispers were spreading that the UN was in discussion about what to do in regards to Albion. The more people thought about it, the more terrified they were of one woman having access to so much power, and in the dead center of the western world.

Not only that, but Albion had been rather distant in regards to it's ties to it's non-magical allies. As the country reformed, the alliances it had once possessed were no in question, and Albion wasn't exactly rushing to reaffirm them. Though to be fair, neither were the other nations.

The collapse of what had been a rather successful constitutional monarchy, presiding over a parliamentary system, and into an absolute monarchy had many people very concerned, since all of this power now placed into what was essentially a warlord.

Protests had begun to erupt in places where Albion had embassies. People were protesting the existence of this magical government and even protesting the right for Albion to be in these countries at all.

In response to these protests, Artoria gave orders of Legionnaires to be dispatched to each embassy, and prepare for a rapid exodus in case things got violent. Setting up magical means, such as portkeys, they had methods in place to allow the staff within these buildings to flee.

Of course the sudden appearance of the black suited legionaries, earned even further outcry as people had learned through various leaks and information conferences that these black-suited individuals were members of Albion's magical armed forces.

**-October 20th 1999-**

A detailed description of what the Nine Tails had done to the Hidden Leaf village had been leaked to the general public, somewhere in the United States.

A description of how it nearly destroyed one of the most powerful villages of shinobi in the world, was now on almost every television in the country, and was quickly spreading to other nations as well.

Of course that story was immediately followed by the Angel of Carnage and how it had destroyed Konoha only to be beaten and sealed by Riley. But then someone let it slip that the Angel had escaped during the war and had been resealed into Riley's body, meaning she had two demons and a murderous angel living inside of her.

Now everyone was losing their minds, with some even openly questioning why this information hadn't been revealed to them, and what should be done about it, after all the angel had openly killed people in nations all over the world, surely it should have to pay for the people it had slaughtered.

Others began to wonder if Riley could use it's power as well, meaning she had the strength of the two strongest demons, and an angel at her disposal.

Violence began to erupt at some of the embassies in various countries across the world. The buildings themselves were emptied of all possessions, basically everything that resided within the buildings was stored away in scrolls and the staff were transported to safety via portkey. The buildings were then placed under **Notice-me-not **charms, earning dumbfoundment from protesters who had to watch the embassies just vanish, and the guards were quick to follow.

Word of how strong the Nine Tails was, was enough of a worry to draw a response from the UN.

A declaration was made, asking Artoria to come before the UN and answer questions before a formal inquiry.

Their request was summarily denied, as Artoria had much more pressing matters than to stand around a placate foreigners for hours on end.

The denial was met by concern, and fake outrage from neighboring nations. The discomfort being shared amongst Albion's neighbors was soon to reach a boiling point.

**-October 30th 1999-**

The UN had sent another declaration, this time with the backing of a US-led Fleet of warships. The US had dispatched a fleet of ships to carry out maneuvers in international waters, but their location was relatively close to the Albion mainland.

It was quite obvious to all involved that this was an intentional attempt to strong arm the newly formed magical nation.

The UN had sent demands for the location and names of the two Jinchuriki in Britain, and for a manner to be established to ensure that these two were not being used for nefarious purposes.

At this point they were basically demanding that Riley and Fu have agents follow them around and constantly report on their activities to the UN security council.

They also demanded that Riley and Fu offer a full debriefing of their Tailed Beasts' abilities to a UN inspection team. These actions were met approval from various muggle governments in Europe, who felt threatened by the newfound power in the hands of the very young and unproven magical nation.

Artoria was very formal with her reply, telling them in no uncertain terms that any attempts to threaten the safety of Albion's borders would be met with aggression and to prove a point, she ordered Riley to use her abilities to disable a handful of satellites that did not belong in position over the newly born nation.

Riley was more than happy to fly up into space and toss a few satellites into the great unknown, just to illustrate that they knew that they were being watched and that was fine, but if people wanted to play hard ball, they would play hard ball too.

Artoria also commanded that the military respond in kind to the US fleet, paralleling their movements and acting as a barrier between them and the Albion mainland.

Things became even more tense when the ICW released an official statement condemning the UN's actions and warning them that continued aggression would only lead to further conflict and that now was absolutely not the time to be picking fights with Albion.

This open condemnation, earned outcry from the muggle populaces who were fearful of the presence of such powerful demons, and not knowing exactly what they were capable of was starting to reignite similar fears as those that occurred during the height of the Cold War.

Of course with that being said, a very interesting statement was released by the Russian government, also condemning the actions of the UN and the US, claiming it to be an act of bullying, and strong arming, that would in no way lead to a peaceful coexistence. Russia even went so far as to be the first muggle government to openly welcome it's own magical populace onto the governmental stage, describing in detail how new departments were being created so that both halves of government could be unified.

**-November 5th 1999-**

An official statement had once more come from the UN, this time with a threat to embargo the newly founded nation if it didn't reply. The moment this threat was delivered, Artoria gave a speech to her people, revealing the threat to their nation, earning outrage from her people and uniting them in righteous fury for what was about to come next.

**-Riley's Home, London, Albion-**

Riley hovered over baby Lucille staring down at the infant, on either side of her was Paxton and Darren, both staring down at their newborn aunt as she slept.

"You boys take care of your auntie while I'm away, alright." Riley instructed, earning a nod from both boys.

Riley turned and headed away from them, Daphne waiting for her not far off.

"You ready for this?" Daphne inquired.

"Yep. Time for some fun." Riley responded with a confident smirk.

Daphne nodded at that and offered Riley her hand. The two quickly **Apparated **to the Hellsing Manor where Artoria waited to deliver her official command to Riley. If the US and the UN wanted to make threats, they would see just what happens when you prod a sleeping dragon.

**-Atlantic Ocean, before dawn, November 6th 1999-**

Riley hovered in the air overlooking the US fleet. Over two dozen ships, filled with thousands of sailors, all going about their duties.

Riley could sense the tension within the fleet. Not far away, a smaller Albion fleet mirrored this one's movements, staying between them and the mainland several hundred kilometers away.

After a moment she let out a chuckle. In a burst of speed she shot forward, flying down to the ships. Without being seen she moved from each one, placing a **Hiraishin Seal**, on each vessel.

In only a few moments her task was complete, she then flew off, heading straight for the US.

**-Lake Superior, United States-**

Riley hovered in the air for a moment before letting out a laugh and tossing several **Hirashin** kunai into the waters below. With a final chuckle she teleported the fleet to these waters, allowing them to appear in the water so as not to capsize any of them.

Fear, paranoia and uncertainty flooded out from the fleet as the sailors quickly realized that they were not where they should be.

Riley hovered in the air and had a good laugh as they quickly scrambled into battle stations believing that they were under attack.

"I don't think that's very responsible." Riley heard a voice from next to her.

She glanced over her shoulder and found a familiar sight hovering in the air not far from her.

Floating there, with his arms crossed was the person the people were calling Superman.

"Hey, they started it." Riley replied, letting out another chuckle as he raised an eyebrow at her.

Riley took a moment to examine the man, taking note of his appearance and his internal magical system. He had claimed not to be a magical which was only partially true if her eyes and senses were anything to go by. He had certain abilities, even if he could use magic like a normal magical could. She also noted that his magical system was completely alien to her.

He lacked magical coils, and his internal magical network was unlike anything she'd ever seen in a human.

Either this man had a very special bloodline, or he wasn't human.

"You know, I always thought aliens would look different." Riley noted, earning surprise from the man.

"My eyes can see the energy within a person's body. Everyone has magic, even if they can't use it. You're magical system isn't like a humans, but you're not a pure magical being either. Your magic is also entirely foreign to me. So either you're a species of magical creature I've never encountered or even heard of, or you're an alien." Riley explained, earning a thoughtful look from the man, before he nodded.

"I heard all of the commotion, and with all the tension going on I'd feared the worst. But you didn't hurt them." Superman noted, glancing down at the fleet, that was buzzing with activity, even if they weren't hurt.

"They're just people doing their jobs, some dingbats much higher than them are calling the shots. I'm not gonna hurt these guys just because their bosses want to try and bully me. I'm a warrior, I fight and I kill in war, and in battle. This is neither. This is just a response to their attempts to threaten us." Riley responded.

"I hope it doesn't come to that. War I mean. I'd hate to see what that would do to the world." Superman admitted.

"I'm not so eager for it myself. Hopefully this nonviolent show of strength will persuade them to stop with the chest thumping." Riley responded.

"So what happens now?" Superman inquired.

"I go home. Maybe in few days I'll take them back to the ocean, that is if their government asks nicely." Riley responded with a smile.

"I think I can handle getting them back." Superman offered.

"Hey if you think you're up to it, go ahead pal. Strange folk like you and I have to work hard to earn people's acceptance. I only care about my friends and family so it doesn't really matter to me if the rest of the world fears me, but if you wanna play hero, go ahead." Riley responded with a shrug.

"It's not about playing hero. I believe those of us with power have a responsibility to use it to help others who can't help themselves." Superman stated.

"I see. Well don't let me stop you hero. Like I said, I'm not in this to hurt them, this is just a political squabble at the moment, and we're all just flexing our muscles. Feel free to carry them back to the ocean if you think you're up to it. Oh… and keep up the good work, I've seen you on the TV, good stuff." Riley said with a chuckle, before quickly shooting off, back towards her home.

Superman stared after her, visible surprise showing on his face as he took in her speed and the near silence she moved with. After a few moments he allowed himself a sigh of relief and turned down towards the US fleet. This was definitely gonna be one for the papers.

As Riley headed back, she allowed herself a moment of internal musing. That man had to be an alien, his surprise at her noting it, definitely confirmed it. That would make him the first alien she had encountered outside of the Darkness, which while technically from an alternate earth, still appeared in this timeline, before the Earth was even around, so it was also technically an alien.

She'd definitely have to keep an eye on this Superman. Just from what she could see by looking at him, and how his body almost seemed to drink in the energy from the sun, he could be quite the formidable foe in the future. Definitely something to keep an eye on in days to come.

**-To be continued-**

_**Alright, here you go, hope you all enjoy, let me know if you have any questions, got another sword trial out of the way, any guesses to her swords true power? I'm all ears for opinions. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the timeline of events, we'll be speeding through some upcoming time to get to more important events in future chapters, so get ready for the long haul.**_


	22. 22: The First Step

_**Alright here's the next chapter for you guys to enjoy. Let me know what you think, let's keep on truckin on. And just as a side note, I am not making any sort of political statements with this story, I am simply writing what I believe would happen in the context of the world. It has nothing to do with any political ideology, and I'm not out to paint anyone negatively, this is just fiction.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

**Chapter 22: The First Step.**

**-November 7th 1999-**

The world was left dumbfounded by the events that took place the previous day. An entire US fleet, taken from it's position and dumped somewhere else, only for Superman to kindly carry each ship, one by one, back to the ocean.

The world was left in a state of disbelief at how quickly Albion had managed to dismantle the UN's threat for embargo. In their attempts to strong-arm the Albions into compliance, all they had managed to do was make themselves look like fools. People found it funny, despite the tension. The US sends a fleet to try and scare the Albions so the Albions take the fleet and put it somewhere where it wouldn't be much of a problem.

It was almost passive-aggressive with how it all played out. Of course now the average citizen was more concerned than before, since the Albions could just transport entire fleets away, preventing anyone from getting close to them. If they wanted to attack, there wouldn't be very many conventional methods to counter them, if they could just send whatever fleet you sent, back to it's starting position.

After it happened, Artoria released a statement to the public, declaring that if the UN continued to make threats, if the United States continued to make threats, than the next response would be far more aggressive. Albion would not be bullied, the people would not be pushed around, and Artoria would not be commanded like some simple servant.

Immediately after the event, Albion went on high alert, showing that if the UN wanted to escalate things, then Albion would happily escalate them.

Sensing the possibility for this to escalate further, Riley spent the remainder of the day going around the perimeter of the entire country and she began planting black chakra receivers in the ground.

It took her all day even with clones, but if it came down to aggression, Riley could use the chakra receivers to activate a powerful barrier ninjutsu to block out any form of attack from others.

The receivers were placed in the waters just around the island, or buried along the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. Riley wasn't the best when it came to barrier ninjutsu, but she knew enough to create hardened barriers that were capable of withstanding incredibly potent attacks.

She made sure to inform Artoria of her defensive measures, just in case the Queen wanted to activate them and seal off the nation from the outside world.

**-November 8th 1999-**

A public statement was released by the ICW decrying the actions of the US and the UN, imploring them to stop with the aggression. Fear mongering and threatening were only going to lead to conflict, and while the magical world may have difficulties dealing with the muggles, the Shinobi were just ruthless enough that they'd fight regardless. The horror of armies of magically enhanced warriors engaging in conflict with non-magicals, it would basically be like the Battle of Sinnon all over again, when the Legion killed thirty thousand in one night.

They sent messages to the UN security council emphasizing the facts that not only were the Albions dangerous, but Riley could bring the dead back to life. Meaning numbers didn't really play a factor in a fight against them. Riley could just continuously bring her fallen comrades back from the dead, ensuring that Albion never suffered a single loss. Just like she had done during the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

The aggression had to stop, everyone had to calm down, because there was no beating the Albions. Not even mutually assured destruction would hold them back, as Riley could just revive those that perished. This was a fight that could be won, it didn't matter how technologically advanced, or how many soldiers other nations had, when death did not matter, it all became a war of attrition, and the Albions would win those conflicts.

The ICW tried to stress as clearly as they could, that turning this into a greater conflict would end very poorly for those who started it.

In response Artoria released another statement, decrying the fear-mongering as unjust and hateful. She expressed that the people of Albion would not stand for it, and would continue to carry on, with or without the approval of surrounding nations.

Discussions were then had between Artoria and the Round Table. She spoke with her advisers and discussed if they shouldn't activate Riley's defensive measures and seal off the nation from the outside world. It would be a drastic action, though it wasn't dismissed outright, even by the muggles.

**-Hellsing Manor-**

"This barrier of yours, what would it's activation mean?" Hugh Irons inquired, directing the question at Riley.

Within the meeting chamber of the Hellsing Manor, Artoria sat with all of her advisers, including the Round Table, Hashirama, Madara, Tobirama, and Merlin. Riley was also present, standing by Artoria's side while the meeting was had.

"The **Six Red Yang Formation.** A barrier technique once used by the Sage of Six Paths. Only those with the **Rinnegan** can accomplish this technique. It creates an incredibly powerful red barrier that stretches high up into the atmosphere. The barrier can be enclosed completely, preventing anything from escaping, or entering. Such a barrier would strong enough to withstand the power of the Ten-Tails, meaning no nuclear weapon could hope to pierce it. The only way in or out of the barrier, is by using Space-Time ninjutsu. That is the barrier I can create in the event of an attack, though I do intent to work on something new. A barrier much like the one that Konoha had around it. Something tied into a sensory system that not only detects everyone who enters, but also reads their emotions and or intents. Such a thing would help us deal with infiltrators and the like that wouldn't just rely on investigation. With my placement of black chakra receivers around the country, I can actually create a number of barriers, though the method was originally intended for the **Six Red Yang Formation**. I'm certain I could develop a more fine tuned barrier." Riley explained to them.

"So if we wanted too, we could effectively seal off the entire nation, and prevent outsiders from entering. It's not really an economically valid option, but then again, the economy is still recovering from Millennium's attack. With the aid of magic, we could become entirely self-sufficient." One member of the Round table noted.

"We could work on developing a barrier that would prevent outsiders from easily seeing in. That would remove their ability to spy on us from space, or even high altitude." Hugh Irons stated.

"The world is experiencing a rapid change, and we risk getting caught up in the storm. There is wisdom in removing ourselves from the chaos, taking a step back and turning out sight inward." Merlin counseled.

"Merlin is right. Sometimes it's better to simply walk away. The other nations are afraid, and they have every right to be. With that being said though, we cannot allow their fear to push us towards a greater conflict. A war based on fear would gain nothing, and only lead to the loss of innocent life." Tobirama agreed.

"Perhaps sealing off the nation is for the best, though maybe not entirely. Perhaps a specialized barrier that would prevent anyone from getting in, and then we establish specific access points, allowing us to know everyone who comes and goes. I don't know about separating entirely from the rest of the world, but putting some distance between us and them may reduce the problem, and give us all time to relax." Hashirama offered up.

"The difficulties with such a barrier come with powering it, but luckily we have a battery that can take the brunt of keeping it running while we find a permanent solution." Madara added, glancing at Riley.

"I can keep a barrier like that up, so long as I am here, but a permanent measure may be far more beneficial." Riley agreed.

"Perhaps a method of storing magical energy that could be tied into the barrier, to keep it running even without you. Is such a thing possible?" Ser Penwood inquired.

"Yes. That is a viable option. We'd have to develop special seals or runes that could hold the necessary levels of magic needed to keep the barrier operating passively, as well as keep it working if it was attacked. Barriers hold their shape and effect by constantly draining magic, and when their shape is affected by outside forces, such as when they are attacked, they drain magic even quicker. So it would need to be a powerful battery." Tobirama explained to everyone, earning contemplative looks.

"Well… I might have an idea as to where to look to find such a battery. Though before I waste my time, is this something you're considering?" Riley asked Artoria, turning all attention onto the Queen who had been listening quietly, taking in everything her advisers were saying.

"Yes. With the escalation of uncertainty and fear, perhaps it is for the best that we retreat from the spotlight, and allow ourselves time to focus on own problems. The country needs guidance, we need to focus on recovering and than on building strong ties amongst the populace. We cannot be wasting time on what others think of us." Artoria responded.

"Alright then. I'll look into Ancor Vantian, see if I can't decipher how it was powered and reverse engineer it." Riley stated, earning curiosity from almost everyone except for Hashirama and Madara.

"Ancor Vantian?" Artoria inquired.

"A massive flying fortress that was once an ancient weapon of incredible power. Called the throne of Kings, and the Fortress of the Empire. The Sky Ninja had been searching for it when Shinno went rogue. I recovered the fortress when he was defeated, and I killed the Zero-Tails. I've had it stored within **Kamui**, since the Fourth Great Ninja War. It's without a power source, and it's heavily damaged, but it might hold the key developing a method to power this new barrier scheme. It also might not be a bad idea to upgrade the old fortress with modern technology, and give it to the military to use. The fortress itself is capable of flight and can house several thousand combatants. It's also equipped with a powerful, focused energy beam weapon, that is supposedly able to strike at targets from extreme ranges with a beam of magic." Riley explained to the room.

"Do you think you can repair this fortress?" Artoria inquired.

"I should be able to manage it. Most of the damage done to it came from it being buried for hundreds of years. I find the right power source to get it up in the air, and then we can focus on upgrading it to a modern standard. We might even be able to replicate the technology. Especially with information on the Lutece Particle." Riley hummed, again earning confusion from the table, though this time it was Madara, Hashirama, Itachi, and Daphne who understood what she was referring to.

"The Lutece Particle was a creation of Rosalind Lutece, a brilliant scientist who discovered a way to generate particles that could be suspended in the air. In a manner of speaking, she discovered anti-gravity, as these particles either aren't affected by gravity, or counter it in some way. These particles had the effect of transmitting their ability to objects they come into contact with. This method was what was used to create the floating city of Columbia. Those of you in the military may have heard rumors about the flying city. This was one of the creations that helped it come into being. We stole information on the particle and it's creation, and have been able to replicate it, in our own labs within Rapture." Itachi explained to them.

"My goodness. Will wonders never cease?" Ser Penwood let out a sigh and rubbed at his temples.

"Set to work on repairing the fortress and uncovering it's secrets. For the time being, I believe it is for the best that we isolate ourselves, and turn our attention inward. We must build a better world for our own people, before we can worry about others. Let them bicker, let the world speculate. We will prosper while struggle to understand." Artoria commanded, her gaze hard and icy.

Riley smirked at that, admiring her lover's strength and determination. If that was the path forward, than Riley would see to it that they prospered from it.

**-November 10th 1999-**

Immediately following Artoria's orders, Riley ventured into **Kamui** and turned her attention onto the dilapidated fortress.

Riley spent weeks within the ruined fortress, analyzing it's secrets and repairing the damage done to it.

She returned to the chamber that had once housed the Zero-Tails, and deciphered the old sealing rituals that had been used to draw in it's demonic youki and use it to power the fortress.

Riley analyzed the sealing ritual, and began making modifications to it. She brought in Kaguya and Kushina to help her, showing them the sealing ritual, and together the three devised a plan to reconfigure the systems powering the fortress, allowing energy to be stored within it for long periods of time and designing runes and seals to draw in nature energy to continuously power it.

With a new sealing ritual established for the fortress, they were able to get it working again. Riley used her magic to charge it's new 'batteries', which were truthfully just massive storage seals that could contain the raw magic and feed it out into the seals and runes that powered the fortress. These batteries would be continuously fed energy from other runes, that gathered in nature energy much the same as the runes Riley had designed for her island did to power the barrier around it.

While they busied themselves with the fortress, they discussed designed a similar sealing ritual on a macro scale. Something large enough to continuously power a barrier that would essentially operate indefinitely. During these discussions, Riley also worked on creating a specialized barrier, one that could detect threats and repel them, while still allowing things like oxygen, water, or animals to pass through.

She wanted to make a barrier that could be placed around the country but not disrupt the ecosystem within. Something that would allow birds to fly in or out, but it would stop planes. Something that would allow fish to swim in, but not boats. Something that could let air in, but block an explosion. Such things were possible, nothing was impossible with magic, the question simply was, how to do it.

While they worked on the seal diagram needed to power something on that scale, Riley came up with some basic ideas for what kind of barrier would be needed to essentially build a wall around the country.

Eventually she recruited Tobirama to her cause, and then Madara, Hashirama, and Izuna. Then she went further, gathering up everyone who knew anything about barriers, and they basically formed a collaborative council of minds to think up and design this new barrier.

The process took several weeks, as well as some of the most brilliant people that Riley knew, but by the end they emerged from **Kamui** with a plan.

Artoria was quickly brought up to speed with the plan, and in an unprecedented move, a statement was issued across the nation that per the growing hostilities, the Kingdom of Albion would be closing it's borders for a short duration, and all foreign entities will be removed.

Essentially what it came down to was if the UN wanted to play hardball, and start making absurd demands because they were afraid, then Albion wouldn't be involved any longer. They had too much to worry about in regards to their own nation, they didn't have time to worry about what everyone else thought.

So the order went out, all foreigners who weren't citizens, or who weren't in the country on a travel visa were asked to leave by the end of the month. This meant the employees of foreign embassies were also being kicked out.

It was clear that Artoria wasn't going to play games with the safety and stability of her nation. If outsiders wanted to fear monger, let them, Albion would no longer be participating.

**-November 20th 1999-**

In an unprecedented move, Artoria gained the allegiance of the Goblin Nation and appointed a representative from their people to serve as one of her advisers. The Goblins had once served under King Arthur, over a thousand years ago, and to this day, they had never forgotten their oath, despite how they felt about the Ministry.

Artoria accepted their allegiance and welcomed them, making sure the public was well aware of the existence of the goblins and of their status as official citizens of the realm.

It didn't take long for other magical peoples to hear about how Artoria was welcoming them and offering them a place amongst society with open arms. Long ago she had ruled over a great expansive kingdom. She had ruled magicals and muggles alike. Humans and non-humans, dark and light. From vampire covens, to werewolf packs, to fairies, and gnomes, and even the centaurs, magicals were beginning to come out of hiding as the power of magic grew, and Artoria worked hard to ensure that all had a place within her kingdom.

The reaction from various nations to the news that Artoria was sealing off the country and pushing it towards a more isolationist view, was utter dumbfoundment.

The sudden reveal of magic and it's incredibly nature, and the rise of the first Magical Nation, and the first thing that it does is immediately sequester itself away from the world.

While the masses were probably happy to let the magical world return to being hidden, those with any sense of discovery were dreading it. The magical world provided so many opportunities to advance technology. There was so much that they could do, and they could do it so easily. An explanation was recently publicized about certain runes that could be used to make an object indestructible. It effectively formed a barrier around the object and any and all damage received would go to the rune and be absorbed. This was how goblins made swords and armor that was indestructible, this was how magical homes could be protected from damage. So long as the rune had magic it would absorb all damage. The only way past it was to destroy the rune, either by actually destroying it, or by overpowering it.

Already there was the idea of using something like that on space shuttles. What if such runes could be made to deflect solar radiation? That question was already being asked, and people were wondering if it could be done.

Unfortunately for these people, the magical world as a whole wasn't ready to join with the non-magical world. The two were basically separate everywhere except the Elemental Nations and Albion. So Albion was currently the key to getting these questions answered.

With them sealing themselves off from the outside, this left many a would be scientist and inventor disheartened, and upset with the political and social landscape of the world. An amazing future was there, waiting for them to seize it, and all they had to do was work with their magical counterparts. Instead everyone was worried about what-ifs.

It truly was upsetting to see, but the Albions were adamant about looking after their own interests. They owed the world nothing, and had no reason to answer to it.

Every deal was examined, every agreement, reworked. Corporations were lobbying for the Queen to reconsider, or trying to get a time table for when the country would reopen.

Right now the plan was for a couple months of just focusing on themselves. Just a couple of months to get things in order and get the country on track, then they could deal with everyone else.

**-November 29th 1999-**

Two days before the barrier was meant to go up. The plan was in place, everything was set up, it all looked to be heading in the right direction.

The plan would involve generating a specialized barrier complex. This barrier would consist of two parts. The first part would be a barrier similar in nature to the one that had been placed around Konoha. It would function in the same manner, though it was upgraded by Kaguya with her deeper understanding of Uzumaki barrier designs.

This barrier would form a dome around the entire country, and it would alert the barrier team any time that something passed through it that possessed will. Meaning fish, birds, animals in general could come and go without triggering the barrier, but people, magical and muggles alike would trigger the barrier upon entrance. The barrier team would work closely with air traffic control teams that monitored the skies, if a plane showed up that wasn't supposed to be there, not only would radar detect it but so would the barrier team.

Now one of the upgrades added to the barrier design was that it would also detect intent, on those passing through the barrier and it would trigger a stunner effect in a person who passed through the barrier with ill intent.

In essence, if a person entered into the country through the barrier with the intent to kill someone, they would be immediately stunned by the barrier and the barrier team would be alerted to them. Individuals who were stunned by the barrier would then be taken to a member of the interrogation core, where they would be given veritaserum and questioned about what had happened and why they were angry. If it was found that they were planning to commit an act of terrorism, espionage, or sabotage, then they would receive the proper punishment, while people who were instead planning other violent crimes would be given to psychiatric help.

This barrier would be tied into a special seal formula, that was placed in the center of the country in a secure location that was then hidden with **Fidelus**. This seal formula was tied into powerful runes scattered all throughout the land, that would absorb ambient energy and feed it into the seal formula, powering it and sustaining it.

The second part of the barrier system was an immediate system that would allow Riley to remotely activate the **Six Red Yang Formation** barrier to block out incoming attacks.

The barrier itself was visible to the naked eye and disrupted visual and thermal light. Meaning satellites could no long see what was happening within the county. Radio waves and the like were unaffected, but essentially it was now impossible to see what was happening within the country from space.

To avoid basic missteps like say a pissed off pilot getting stunned while flying through the barrier, two massive openings were placed in the barrier. One in the eastern edge of the country and one in the western edge. Any plane arriving would have to pass through one of these two openings.

The openings themselves were generated by special runes placed on stones that would create wide openings in the barrier. These stones were only a few feet across and had Lutece particles attached to them, via small capsules. These stones floated high in the sky and left these two openings for inbound planes.

The barrier didn't affect anyone leaving and the stunners would only affect these individuals for a few minutes so ships weren't as big an issue as even if the person driving the ship was stunned there was less danger of the passangers being harmed before Legionnaires could arrive.

Another part the protective barrier system was the establishment of a private floo network from Pentref Cysgodian Hud. This floo network would tie the hidden village to a dozens of small outposts that were evenly spread out around the borders of the country. It would take a month or two to finish getting it all set up but at the end, the idea would be that the barrier team would be informed if anyone entered into the barrier, either by sea, on land, or in the sky, unless they passed through one of the two holes.

If this person held ill intent, they would immediately be stunned by the barrier. This would only last a few moments, but it would be long enough for someone to investigate and apprehend the individual. If anything occurred around the outskirts of the nation, there would be special outposts setup tied to the floo network that would allow legionaries to travel to anywhere around the borders of the county and be able to reach a location within minutes, either by running, flying via broomstick, or with **Apparation.**

For a few months, the country would be closed to travelers and all trade would be heavily monitored and brought in line with new regulations.

As a final caveat to these defensive measures, Riley spent a day going around to each town, city, village, and military base around the country and she placed a **Hiraishin** kunai at each of these locations. If an incoming attack was detected, Riley could instantly teleport to the location of the attack, and repel it.

Such an idea was also going to be translated over to the Legion's floo network. That would be the next step after the external outposts. Once that was done, they would begin establishing connections to every location within the country, allowing the Legion to rapidly respond to any situation within their borders. And the Aurors would be provided access to this network as well, decreasing their travel time.

With the imminent closing of the country, Artoria prepared to roll out a number of new initiatives to get things organized and help establish order.

Firstly, the recruitment of aurors was put as a main priority, and began training with muggle police officers, so that both sides could learn how to deal with criminals from either side of the magical spectrum.

It was this first idea that Artoria rolled out that led to discussion about whether or not to begin distributing plasmids, tonics, and vigors to specially trained police forces. These conversations were held in depth as risks and rewards were debated. The greatest risk involved for non-magicals was over indulgence. Plasmids could grant them basic magical abilities, but it would take them days to regenerate the magic required to use them, which was what the Eve substance was used for. A normal human could maybe use a basic magical spell, three or four times before they didn't have enough magic to keep using it. Eve allowed for rapid replenishment of one's magic, but it would strain their cores if used repeatedly.

If something like that were to be used, it would be held under strict control. It was an idea that held certain merits but Artoria wouldn't commit to it until they had certain procedures and safety measures in place to keep things from spiraling out of control like they did in Rapture.

The idea than shifted to tonics instead, enhancing the physical abilities of their police and soldiers, making them stronger, faster, and with greater reflexes. It wouldn't bring them up to magicals levels, but it would give them a greater fighting chance against magical enemies, and it would elevate them above other nation's fighting forces.

This idea was discussed even more in-depth, and Artoria commanded that studies be done on special gene tonics to be used to enhance their military forces. Once ideas were established, they would have this discussion again, and Artoria would decide at that time whether she wanted to give the green light for actual human trials to be done, on muggle volunteers.

The next initiative Artoria rolled out was the use of magic to enhance farmlands and soil to increase food productivity. With the use of storage scrolls and the like, food could be stored indefinitely, with the use of magic. So there was no real concern of waste, so ramping up food productions and creating huge stockpiles of food would ultimately insure there was never any shortages.

This initiate would begin by offering to pay the farmer who were willing to have magicals tend their lands and show them how magic could be used to increase the yield on crops, and the speed that it grew.

Konoha had been proof of how rapidly plants could grow when powerful magics were introduced, especially magics that were aligned with nature, such a wood style.

The power of the First Hokage had caused the forests around the village to grow massive and quickly. Hashirama's personal training ground would later become the infamous Forest of Death, a place that was wildly overgrown.

The effects of such magics, weren't limited to just the plants. Animals that fed on these plants, grew quicker, and often grew larger as a result. That was why there were giant tigers, giant snakes, giant boars, giant everything really.

Pigs were actually one of the best animals to use because they could eat anything and would keep growing larger and larger the more they ate, and magic would increase their strength too, so you would get massive boars, that could provide the same amount of meat as a six or seven pigs.

It all came down to control. Only use as much magic and enhance things within your ability to maintain control over it. Otherwise you get places like the Forest of Death.

Another initiate that Artoria wanted to work on was education. All schools would need to begin adding studies into the magical world, as well as the true histories of the past. As she had learned in the modern age, an informed and intelligent populace often made better choices, and acted intelligently. It kept fear to a minimum if people understood what was going on and what existed out there in the world.

It was ultimately for the best to get people up-to-date on what was real and what wasn't.

These policy changes were just the start. Artoria intended to fully revolutionize the nation, allowing it to use all that was available to it, to grow and improve.

**-December 1st 1999-**

The barrier had gone up. An act of magic that astounded the world. A massive dome of shimmering air rose up around the entire country. It wasn't visible from within but on the outside it looked like Albion had been encased in a giant slab of gelatin.

Those on the outside could no longer really make out what was happening within, nor could satellite's see what was occurring under the veil.

This change was met with uncertain acceptance from the people's of Albion. It was nice to not have to worry about being spied on by others, so that was a benefit, people were just concerned for how long the country would remain separated from the outside world, and how this would affect them.

**-Riley's Home, London. December 2nd 1999-**

Fleur and Kushina busied themselves with making lunch, both enjoying the quiet preparations, able to lose themselves in thought as they prepared a meal for their family.

Lucille was in the living room being looked after by Luna, as well as Paxton and Darren. All was well until they heard a shout from one of the boys.

Fleur and Kushina raced into the living room to find Darren cradling Lucille in his arms while Luna lay on the couch violently convulsing.

"Luna!" Fleur cried out, rushing across the room to kneel by Luna's side. Kushina was right there with her, examining the young woman as she shook violently, her eyes wide, and staring straight off into open air as she violently shook.

Not a moment after the cry left Fleur's lips, Riley manifested, seemingly out of nowhere.

Riley scooped Luna into her arms and held her as she shook, through their connection, Riley saw a vision playing out in Luna's mind. Once more she was experiencing a prophetic vision, and once more it was filled with death and destruction.

Riley watched the vision play out as she held Luna in her arms. She watched as meteors rained down from the sky, slamming into the earth causing incredible destruction. Cities were bombarded, countrysides set aflame. In the final moments of the vision, Riley saw the moon fall from the heavens and slam into the earth, at the very last second, an image flashed of a pair of brilliant blue eyes, that held a white glowing floral pattern within them.

That image was only present for half a second, but it seared itself into the demoness's mind.

Soon the vision began to repeat, as Luna continued to shake and convulse.

"Luna… it's alright… I'm here." Riley whispered, pulling her mate close, and gently kissing her forehead.

"You're safe. Everything is alright." Riley continued to try and reach her.

It took a few moments but Luna's eyes began to tremble and tears began to well within them and slide down her cheeks.

"It's okay, my love. It's okay." Riley said quietly as cradled Luna close.

Slowly, Luna's eyes began to focus onto Riley's face, and she started to sob.

Riley felt Luna grab onto her, pulling Riley as close as she could. Riley received the gesture and held Luna as tightly as she could without hurting her.

"What happened?" Kushina asked, watching the two with surprise and uncertainty.

"She had a vision. A prophetic dream." Fleur stated, staring at the two, her eyes filled with sadness.

"She's never had visions while awake before. They've always been in her dreams." Riley noted as she continued to cradle Luna to her chest.

"But she had this one while awake. She wasn't sleeping, she was watching the baby." Fleur stated, glancing at Paxton and Darren.

Darren stepped over to Fleur still holding Lucille in his arms. The baby was sleeping quietly, having not noticed any of the drama that had just occurred.

Fleur smiled at the boy, patting him on the head, and offering him thanks for keeping an eye on his newborn aunt.

"She was awake, holding the baby. Then she just slowly fell over onto her side and started shaking. Darren took the baby from her when she looked like she was going to drop her." Paxton explained to them all.

"She had this vision while she was awake. It just struck her out of nowhere." Riley surmised, glancing over her shoulder at Fleur and Kushina, neither knowing what this meant in regards to Luna.

"Everything's going to be alright." Riley offered, turning her attention back to Luna.

"No… it's not. I keep seeing it, the world ending! I keep seeing it dying!" Luna muttered, her voice hollow, filled with despair.

"I wont let that happen. I wont let any of your visions come true." Riley reassured her, causing Luna's tearful face to look up at her.

"Promise?" Luna whispered quietly. The fear in her eyes, greatly upset Riley. She felt her anger swell but she kept it in check, and leaned down, kissing Luna's forehead and pulling her back into an embrace.

"I promise, my love. I wont let the world be destroyed." Riley swore to her.

Riley felt Luna settle at her promise, though it did not chase away the fear entirely. Riley's gaze hardened at that, she would need to prove her words the truth, and defend this world from the coming danger.

**-Hellsing Manor, Later-**

"A troubling prophecy." Merlin noted as he sat back in thought.

Riley had just finished explaining to Artoria, Merlin, Hashirama, Madara, Tobirama, Itachi, Daphne, Izuna, and Kaguya, about what Luna had seen.

"This would be the third of such prophecies." Hashirama noted, earning a curious look from Merlin.

"One prophecy foretold a coming Day of Wrath, where an Archdevil would invade the earth. The world would be dragged into the dark realms and all life would be enslaved. The second prophecy involved a great flood that would consume the world. And now this, the moon falling on the planet." Artoria explained.

"Perhaps the latter two share something in common. The moon falling could be what causes the flood. The moon is hollow according to Black Zetsu. Meaning despite it's size it's mass is significantly less. Unless it was moving at an incredible velocity, the damage caused to the planet would eventually heal. It would still cause the extinction of most life on Earth, but it wouldn't destroy the planet entirely." Tobirama offered.

"It's possible. All I do know is that the last of these prophecies is causes by an Ootsutsuki. I saw the **Tenseigan**. Those eyes have gravitational powers, just like mine. Pulling the moon out of orbit and dropping it onto the earth, is possible." Riley stated, her words earning unease from Kaguya who shifted nervously and pulled into herself. The action was not missed by Riley, or Madara, the latter of which placed his hand on his wife's shoulder, offering her reassurance.

If the Ootsutsuki attack, we must be prepared to retaliate against them. What are our options in dealing with these crisis?" Itachi inquired, gazing around at those within the room.

"If it comes down to it, I'll destroy the moon to stop it from being used as a weapon." Riley stated, her voice filled with cold confidence, something that unsettled her family members, all of whom noted that Riley was absolutely furious at the moment. Her eyes were blood red, and her hands balled into fists.

She was definitely on the warpath. Seeing one of her mates so frightened and unable to do anything to help them, always set Riley off like this. It would take her a few days to calm down, unless of course a plan of action was found quickly.

"Well we have our plan B, but what about a plan to stop the Ootsutsuki?" Itachi again pressed.

"We need to be prepared for their invasion. The moment we sense something is off, we need to enter an alert state. This attack could come at any moment, so we should prepare with drills, to ensure that our forces are ready if it comes to an attack. Beyond that, until the enemy makes a move, all we can do it is prepare. Unless of course we launch a preemptive strike on the moon." Tobirama expressed, earning a thoughtful look from Artoria as she considered that.

"According to Riley, the primary attack will be proceeded by a meteor shower. So we'll know when the attack is coming. For now we must turn out gaze towards the moon. Should anything unnatural begin to occur, we'll be ready for it." Artoria commanded, earning nods from her advisers.

Riley was eerily silent as this happened, something Artoria noted.

"Give us a moment." Artoria commanded to her advisers, ordering them to clear the room so she could have a moment to speak with Riley.

A few seconds later and the room was empty, leaving only Riley and Artoria.

"Something is bothering you? Something more than you've shared. I can see it. Daphne could see it too. I'm sure the others would have noticed if given the time." Artoria began.

"It's almost time." Riley muttered, her gaze distant.

"Almost time for what?" Artoria asked, stepping up to her.

"For us to become one. The Ootsutsuki are coming, and my best chance of defeating them is to receive Hagoromo's training." Riley explained to her.

"To make us your paths." Artoria remembered what such training would entail. Riley would grant a portion of her ocular powers to all of her mates, making them her paths. She would need to endure a few years of training to make sure that they could manage it, and during that time, she would receive training from Hagoromo Ootsutsuki. Artoria and Riley would be married in the not to distant future, and her relationship with Yugito was going along well. It was indeed almost time.

"We can't wait much longer, my love." Riley said to her.

"I know. Focus on Yugito, make sure she's ready. When the time comes, I will be." Artoria replied, earning a soft smile and a nod from Riley.

The two shared a quiet moment with one another before calling the others back in to resume the conversation.

-**December 5****th**** 1999-**

The next few days were tense around Riley's house. Luna was a bit out of it, and wouldn't even go near baby Lucille. She was scared she'd have another vision and possibly end up hurting the child. Riley and Fleur did what they could to calm her down, and settle her mind, assuring her that what happened wasn't something that she could control and that they both knew she would never intentionally hurt the baby.

It unfortunately did little to settle Luna's fears. Eventually, Fleur found a way to help her. She waited for when Luna was sitting on the couch, and she sat next to her, the baby in her arms. She then handed Lucille off to Luna, despite her protests, making Luna hold the baby, while Fleur sat by her side.

Fleur stated by Luna's side for the rest of the night, assuring Luna that she trusted her, and that the baby felt safe in her arms.

Luna's protests eventually faded. She still didn't feel safe having the baby, and she had sworn to both Riley and Fleur that she wouldn't have her if she was alone, to ensure that nothing would happen, but she did calm down a bit.

Fleur and Riley both tried to convince Luna otherwise, but it simply fell on deaf ears. Until the child was old enough to take care of herself, Luna wouldn't watch over her alone. If she had another episode, and no one was there to look after the baby, Luna didn't want something bad to happen to the little girl. So she wasn't going to be watching her alone. It was something she was just going to have to live with.

While Riley and Fleur weren't happy about it, they understood that Luna was simply choosing to be safe, and she couldn't stop herself from having visions, especially if they were now starting to happen while she was awake.

Riley hated not being able to do anything to help Luna out of this, all she could do was try and reassure her that everything was going to be alright, and that this wasn't going to change anything. While Luna wasn't overly convinced, it did bring a light smile to her face to see that Riley was trying so hard to help her.

**-December 7th 1999-**

Every day, more changes came about within the country of Albion. People were adapting and taking in these changes as they went about their lives. Magic flourished, as those with access to it spent their days using it benefit the new world Artoria was making.

New ideas for businesses were being established, new questions being asked, all in all, people were surviving.

An official statement arrived from Russia, condemning the actions of the UN as nothing more than bullying, and they made an offer to meet with Artoria to discuss working together to move forward in this new world.

Artoria was receptive to the cordial offer, sending a reply that she would meet with them in a few months to discuss the possibility of trade agreements and the like.

When news leaked to the rest of the world that Albion was willing to work with the Russians, it finally hit home to the west that if they didn't do something quickly, then this new magical power forever be at odds with them.

Everyone knew that this was all just an attempt to capitalize on the growing power of the Albions. Even Artoria knew it. Though she honestly had no reason to hate any other nation, so she would happily speak with any who were willing to have a civilized discussion about cooperating.

Russia, China, Germany, France, America, Japan, India, it didn't matter who it was, if they were willing to put aside their fear and actually come to the negotiating table to discuss reasonable methods of working together, than Artoria would. She didn't care about their politics, only about what was happening within their lands. How a government treated it's people was indicative of how it would treat others. Artoria would speak with those willing to speak, but she would make her decisions based on what was best for her people.

It seemed like the walking away approach my actually be working, at least on the government level. While many amongst the various populace were happy that all the craziness had settled down, those that were higher up in the various nations, knew that Albion was poised to seize upon the reveal of magic, and elevate itself to unknown heights. Many feared that a new British Empire could rise, seizing the reigns as a global superpower.

It was all uncertain now, all that the UN knew for certain was that they couldn't continue with these arguments, lest Albion become an enemy, and actually turn on them.

So for now, people were just talking. Artoria kept her personal feelings out of her dealings with the surrounding nations. Those that had criticized or tried to bully her, she simply dealt with them in a stoic manner, responding to their messages and offers, with a focused and determined nature. Replying each time to their offers for meetings, that she would discuss with them, when she was ready too, and for now she was focused on Albion and it's prosperity. Until that was assured, the rest of the world could just sit back and watch.

While everything was happening on a national level, Riley was doing exactly as Artoria suggested and was focusing her attention onto Yugito. The two had gone on several more days, and had been spending a lot more time together.

Their physical interactions had also improved. They were touching more often, holding hands, kissing. They even spent time training together. Riley started bringing Yugito around to spend time with her mates, and meet her daughter. Yugito was awkward around the others, even a bit intimidated by them, due to their relationship with Riley and the apparent unified front that they shared.

Riley made sure to make her feel welcomed, and made sure she was as comfortable as she could be.

Eventually the time came where things began to get far more physical, with light petting becoming fondling. Yugito, while nervous, didn't shy away from it, and even returned Riley's actions, groping at her breasts while they kissed or cradling her hips or butt.

The time was fast approaching, both of them knew it, but Riley was well aware that before they reached that level of intimacy, there was a few things she had to discuss with Yugito.

**-Kamui-**

Riley pulled away from Yugito, earning a sultry look from the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. Riley offered her a smile which she returned and leaned forward to resume kissing.

"Yugito, wait." Riley stopped her, letting out a sigh as she did.

"What is it?" Yugito inquired, giving her a curious look.

"There's some things I need to tell you. Things that I have to explain before we go any further." Riley began, letting out another sigh.

"What sort of things?" Yugito asked.

"Well there's three major things you need to know. This isn't one of them but before I begin I want you to know that I really like you. Like a lot. I like spending time with you. I think you're interesting, I think you're fun. I do like you. So lets just get that cleared up before I start with this whole explanation." Riley began, her words earning confusion from Yugito.

"One of the abilities I possess with my eyes, is the ability to grant a portion of their powers to someone else. I don't know if this transfer is permanent or if I can control if it's active or not. But I can give a person some of my ocular abilities, or perhaps it's better to say I can use a person as a conduit for some of my powers." Riley began, rising to her feet and standing before Yugito who stared up at her, nodding slowly in understanding.

"Something is coming. Something terrible. We fear that one day the monster that aided the Akatsuki during the Fourth Great Ninja War, will come back, and to help prepare for it, I've decided to use this ability to allow others to use my powers. Now like I said I don't know if I can undo this gift, once it's given, and I don't know fully what'll happen when I give it. All I do know for certain is that I can create eight of these conduits, or 'paths', allowing eight people to access a portion of my ocular powers. I've chosen my mates to be those either people." Riley explained to her.

"So… you want me to be one of the people to receive some of your powers?" Yugito surmised.

"Yeah, more or less." Riley replied.

"Well… I mean I don't really know what to say. I'm honored you would consider me, and well… considering the nature of your fears, I can understand why you would want it, but why was this something I needed to know before we went further?" Yugito inquired in response.

"A prophecy. A prophecy that hints towards our fears being true, that this Archdevil will invade the earth. Luna, had a prophetic vision when she was a child and in it, she saw this attack, and she saw herself there with me. She was older, maybe in her thirties or so, but she saw me there with eight others, and they had my eyes. When I give this power, a side affect is that you'll gain the **Rinnegan**, and you'll also share a line of sight with all the others who share in this power, essentially you'll be able to use a portion of the **Rinnegan's** powers, and also see through the eyes of the other people who are joined with you. She saw eight people with me, with my eyes. There are nine paths in total with the **Rinne Sharingan**, counting myself, you, and Artoria, that would mean I have my eight paths." Riley began.

"So… that's why you accepted the marriage alliance? You knew you needed an eighth…?" Yugito began, a bit of sadness seeping into her voice, but it stopped when Riley knelt in front of her and took Yugito's face in her hands.

Riley offered her a smile, and leaned in to kiss her. Yugito returned the kiss, unable to resist how good and right it felt.

"Remember what I said. I do like you. And I do want to be with you. Yes I accepted it because I knew I needed another mate, but I was fully committed to walking away if I didn't feel like there was a spark between us. I'm telling you this because I want to move forward with you. I want us to be together. I like you, Yugito Nii. I think you're fun to be around when you're not acting so cagey." Riley said to her, her playful jab earning a light chuckle from Yugito.

"Alright. I believe you. So… the others know about this?" Yugito asked.

"Yeah. I intend to go through with it, after I make you all my mates." Riley answered.

"Alright then. So what are you waiting for then?" Yugito asked, curiously.

"Well I have to sleep with you first." Riley replied with a teasing grin, earning a minor blush from Yugito.

"Why? You said have to, not want to." Yugito noted.

"There's a reason I call my lovers my mates. Our relationship isn't as simple as us just being together. This has to do with the second thing I wanted to tell you." Riley answered.

"Alright, and what is that?" Yugito inquired.

"I'm a demon." Riley stated.

Yugito was silent for a moment, as she just gave Riley a weird look.

"**I knew it! I knew there was something off about her! Kurama you sly fox, what did you do?"** Matatabi shouted within Yugito's mind.

"**Made a deal to turn her into a demon. She was accidentally eating my soul and I didn't want to die, so I taught her how to adapt her soul to the part she absorbed. She's a Tailed Beast, like us."** Kurama answered, his reply was heard by Yugito, who realized that this wasn't some kind of joke.

"You're a demon?" Yugito muttered in disbelief.

"Yeah. Just like Kurama said. I started to absorb him, so to stop it from happening I let him out of his seal and made my body into his new temple, and he taught my how to become a full demon. I'm a Tailed Beast." Riley explained to her.

"So that's why you're so powerful? You were a demon all this time… I… I actually remember feeling something. Feeling a powerful evil presence a few years ago. Back before the war when I was at Hogwarts for the exams..." Yugito began earning a nod from Riley.

"That was me. That was the moment I ascended and became a full blooded demon. The reason all of this matter to the previous stuff is because when we have sex, it'll forge a magical bond between you and I. My magic will claim you as my mate, I'll be able to sense your emotions over a distance and if we focus we can mentally communicate. My mates are already like an extension of myself, which is why I chose them to be my paths. Once I make you and Artoria my mates, I'll have no reason not to make you my paths." Riley offered to her.

"Wow. I mean it makes sense, but still." Yugito began.

"Are you okay with this?" Riley asked.

Yugito was quiet for a moment as she looked up and met Riley's gaze. For several long moments, Yugito ran that question through her head, finally she allowed herself to smile, earning one from Riley in response.

"It answers so many questions about you. You being a demon and all. I guess it all makes sense." Yugito responded.

"There's one more thing you need to know." Riley began.

"Yeah?"

"We have kids." Riley said, offering her a smile.

Yugito stared back at Riley, blinking dumbly. Offering her a chuckle, Riley began to explain the situation in regards to her children lost through time. At the end she asked Schrödinger to come out and meet his mother.

Yugito stood dumbfounded at she stared at the half-demon boy. Riley was pretty sure that the Two-Tails feinted when she saw Yugito's offspring.

Yugito didn't know what to make of the situation and was left quite dumbfounded by it all. Schrödinger simply laughed at her, finding her amusing and not really minding that she didn't know how to respond to the whole situation.

After their awkward meeting, Riley took Yugito back to her houses to show her the box of time-turners older Elizabeth had left.

**-Riley's Home-**

"Wow… there's still so many." Yugito noted as she ran her eyes over all of the devices.

"Yeah. You wanna use one?" Riley inquired.

"What?" Yugito asked.

"Do you wanna use one? All of these are kids out of time, they're waiting on us to rescue them. So you wanna go look for one. Go on an adventure?" Riley explained, earning a look of concentration from Yugito.

After a moment she retrieved one of the Time-turners. The piece of paper attached with it, that held the names of the parents was opened but it revealed something Riley wasn't expecting. On the paper was Riley's name twice, as well as Yugito's name, but Gaia's name was also present.

"What does that mean?" Yugito inquired.

"It means that this Time-turner leads to a place where two of my kids are located. One with you and one with Gaia." Riley replied, eyeing the paper curiously.

After a moment she made a noise and vanished in a flash. Several long moments of silence went by as Yugito glanced over to the waiting eyes of Riley's mates and children.

"Two new siblings to go along with the baby? Wow you're family is really growing fast." Anna noted to Elsa, earning a nod from her as Riley reappeared with Gaia, who looked fresh out of bed.

"Adventure time!" Riley stated cheerfully.

"Are you sure you don't want to lay down for a few moments?" Yugito noted at Gaia's tired appearance.

"No, it's alright. I don't get to spend enough time with my wife-to-be, so I've got to indulge her whenever possible. Besides, no matter how long it takes us, it'll only be a few minutes out here." Gaia responded.

"Alright, we'll see you all in a few minutes." Riley waved to her mates and children.

"Enjoy your three-way." Katie called back, earning a laugh from Riley while, Gaia and Yugito blushed.

While Katie was getting admonished by Daphne for her uncouth joke to the Kazekage, Riley placed the Time-turner around the three of them and set it in motion.

"I wonder where we'll end up?" Gaia questioned with curiosity.

"Given my track record with these things, I'm guessing someplace wonderful and strange." Riley replied with excitement as she activated the Time-turner and everything went black.

**-?-**

Sight quickly returned to them, and the three women found themselves dressed in beige pants and simple shirts, all three covered by long matching cloaks to keep out the cold. Other than that, they each bore kunai pouches and shuriken pouches, and Gaia had her sand gourd.

"That was weird." Yugito muttered as she stared down at her change of clothes.

"That felt unnatural." Gaia agreed.

"It's time travel, it's supposed to feel weird." Riley stated to the two.

Gaia was about to respond when the sound of foot steps approaching drew her attention away from Riley.

She turned her gaze to scan the area. The three were standing on the outskirts of some small village, nestled in a rocky, forest filled landscape. Approaching was a squad of individuals, each dressed in dark red, and black armor. Each was armed with a spear, all of it looked to be eastern Asian in design. The leader of the five man squad wore the same armor but had no weapons.

He bore a stern glare and as he and his squad approached he locked eyes with Gaia.

"You three…" he began, earning their full attention. "Who are you?"

"Travelers." Gaia responded, her gaze calm and focused.

"Traveling from where?" He asked, his voice filled with suspicion and no shortage of malice.

"That's none of your concern." Gaia responded, her voice filled with authority. Her response earned a glare from the leader of the squad of soldiers and he immediately let out a growl and made a motion with his hand.

"Alright… if you wanna do this the hard way, we'll do it the hard way." He said as his men spread out, flanking him and leveling their spears at the three women. Their leader stepped forward, holding up his hand as he did.

In his hand, a fireball burst into being. The fire itself floated over his palm, burning in the air.

"You either talk, or you get burned." He warned.

"Walk away, or I will kill you." Gaia responded, her voice filled with a warning. Riley smirked at her commanding nature, and Yugito kept the appearance of being relaxed but she was already to respond in an instant.

The man's eyes went wide at her and the ball of fire over his palm faded. Then with a roar of rage he punched at her. From the end of his fist, a ball of fire shot forward and raced across the distance towards Gaia.

Her sand immediately rushed to defend her, blocking the fireball before sinking down to the ground.

"You… you're under arrest for the crime of Earth-bending." The man stated with a smirk.

Riley and Yugito shared a look with one another while Gaia let out a sigh.

"It seems the locals are not friendly." Gaia noted.

"It would seem so. Time to see what kind of trouble we can get into." Riley said with a smirk, eager to sink her teeth into this new landscape they had found themselves in and find her two missing children. This was the perfect opportunity to enjoy some bonding time with Gaia and Yugito, and unwind from the recent upheaval in the world.

It was time to have a bit of fun.

**-To Be Continued-**

**Alright there you go. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and look forward to the next one. I think all of you can guess where they ended up. See ya next time, Ja Ne!**


	23. 23: A World of Trouble

_**Alright time for the next chapter, hope you all are having a good time and staying safe.**_

**Broken Angel: Rising Demon**

**Chapter 23: A World of Trouble**

**-?-**

Riley crossed her arms with a smirk as Gaia's sand shielded them from the incoming blasts of fire. Yugito stood by her side, ready to react at a moment's notice, but otherwise relaxed.

The four spear-men charged forward, intent on surrounding Gaia, only for her sand to rush out, and seize them, wrapping around the four and lifting them into the air.

The man throwing fireballs at her, ceased his actions when he saw that his entire squad was now trapped in her midst.

"Release them, and I may show you mercy!" The squad leader demanded.

Gaia stared back with a hard look as she slowly raised her hand.

"Sand Coffin." She began, her eyes locking with her enemy's. "Sand Burial."

With a clenching of her extended hand, all four spear-men were crushed to death by the cocoons of sand that held them aloft.

Blood showered down, and their screams of pain were quickly replaced by the loud crunching of bones.

The enemy squad leader began to back away, his face twisted in horror, as the corpses of his comrades were unceremoniously dropped onto the ground.

As Gaia took a step towards the man, he lost whatever confidence he had before, and turned to run. He barely made it a half meter, when Gaia's sand lashed out, rushing after him, and wrapping around his leg, dragging him back towards her.

He began to cry out in fear, and attempted to launch another attack against her, this time punching out at her and sending a continuous stream of fire at her.

Gaia remained safe behind a sand shield, while her sand slowly climbed from the man's leg, up his body and began to encase him.

As soon as it wrapped around his arm, he began to beg for mercy.

Gaia had none, and once more she reached her hand out, and as soon as the man was fully encased, she closed her hand into a fist, willing the sand to crush the life out of him.

As his body dropped lifelessly to the ground, Gaia turned her attention back towards Riley and Yugito.

"Well done." Riley complimented, walking towards her.

"Why were they so eager to attack you?" Yugito asked, walking with Riley.

"I'm not sure. They treated us with suspicion the moment they saw us, and reacted with outright hostility when they saw my abilities." Gaia replied.

"They said it was a crime to 'earth-bend', whatever that means." Yugito noted.

Riley listened to their speculation for a moment before quietly drawing in the souls of the recently deceased, taking in the spirits of the five dead men, and taking a moment to look into their lives and see what she could learn.

From the collective memories of the five men, she learned that they were in a place called the Earth Kingdom, a confederacy, ruled by a central government along with various regional governments. This land was one of four territories.

To Riley's confusion and curiosity, the geography of the area made little sense to her. To the knowledge of these five men, they believed that the lands that they knew of, were what the world was comprised of. The confusing thing was, these lands were stretched over a round surface. In essence, these four lands comprised the 'world'. Along the equator was the largest continent, the Earth Kingdom. In the far west, was the Fire Nation, the land where these soldiers hailed from. Scattered around the Earth kingdom were small sets of land that once belonged to the nomadic Air Nomads, but those people had been wiped out decades ago, and finally there were the two poles of the 'world' where the Water Tribes resided.

The world was round, it rotated, had a day and night cycle, seasons, and all of that good stuff, the issue was that it was far too tiny to be Earth. This round world was possibly a thousand miles across at most, a tiny world, yet one where gravity seemed to operate similar to Earth's.

Riley's confusion showed on her face, and noticing her silence, Gaia and Yugito turned their gazes towards her, and could tell from the way she folded her arms and stared up at the sky, that she was obviously thinking about something.

"What is it?" Gaia inquired.

"I'm confused." Riley responded, still staring up at the clouds in the sky.

"What about?" Yugito asked.

"The Time turners are meant to take us to a different time and place in the world, basically. My confusion stems from this not being Earth." Riley answered, causing the two to share a look before adopting their own confused looks.

"Mind explaining?" Yugito inquired.

"One second." Riley answered as she lifted off the ground and floated up into the sky.

She rose up higher and higher, as she turned her gaze out towards the horizon. Confirming what the men knew she looked out over the curvature of the world, it was indeed much smaller than the Earth. To further prove that this wasn't the Earth she activated her Byakugan, and rushed forward, flying quickly through the air.

Riley accelerated herself in a straight line following the curvature of the world, her gaze extending forward as she kept watch for Gaia and Yugito to appear in her vision.

She circumnavigated the small world in moments, and arrived back at her previous position high above Yugito and Gaia.

"Well this is weird. What do you think it all means?" Kurama inquired.

"I don't know. Maybe these children somehow ended up on another planet? That is a possibility though the fact that this world had gravity just like the earth, despite being so small, seems highly unusual. It could be the result of magic though. Magic is powerful here, flowing in great torrents through the air, almost like the wind. I can see it with my eyes, the raw nature energy of this world. I wonder… maybe I can see if I can sense the Earth." Riley thought back, closing her eyes and extending her senses.

The Rinne Sharingan, was capable of sensing things from across dimensions, so sensing the Earth within another part of the galaxy, shouldn't be that hard. She allowed her senses to extend outward, and immediately recoiled in surprise as she felt the familiar feeling of the Earth all around her.

"What the hell…?" Riley wondered as she turned her gaze up to the sky.

She stared intently at it for several moments before she shot upward, flying high up and out of the planet's atmosphere. She passed beyond the boundaries of the planet and found herself drifting through space. Despite the supposed emptiness, she found that she could still feel the Earth all around her, despite being in the cold vacuum of space. She continued outward, accelerating her speed.

She moved faster and faster, making it an incredible distance until something in space forced her to stop.

Extending outward, like a massive bubble was some sort of barrier. Activating her Byakugan, Riley could see that this barrier extended outward forming a solid wall before her. She could just barely detect a minor curve in the barrier indicating that it wrapped around the solar system she was within.

"What the hell?" Riley thought to herself as she shot forward, passing through the barrier with ease.

To her surprise, instead of finding empty space beyond it, the moment she passed through the barrier, she was consumed by water, and she felt gravity reorient, and begin to pull her downward. Looking down, she could make out in the murky depths a black, mirror-like shelf that seemed to spread out across the floor of this body of water.

Riley leaned down and pressed her hand to the glass-like substance, finding that it felt like obsidian. Extending her senses into the glass substance, she found that she could feel Gaia and Yugito within. Pressing onto the glass she felt the magics of the barrier attempting to halt her passage back through.

Whatever barrier was in place seemed to allow things out, but now back in. Instead of attempting to brute force her way back in, Riley reached out her senses to try and locate if her Hiraishin seal was still on Gaia's body. She felt the presence of the seal, which assured her that she could return without needing to breach the barrier.

"You know you teleport back like that, Gaia's going to know you marked her with your seal." Kurama noted.

"Eh… she probably suspects that I did anyway, and if not, we can fight about it later. For now though..." Riley turned her attention upward and lifted up through the murky water. The lake itself was sixty, maybe seventy feet deep, and filled with fish, some of which Riley recognized, which confirmed a suspicion she was developing.

She rose out of the water and used her Byakugan to gaze out at the surrounding area.

Her gaze stretched out, searching for life across the vast expanse beyond the lake. Her eyes soon fell upon a town to the east, a small village, no more than a hundred people or so. They bore a distinctly Asian appearance to them, and from what few scraps of a written language Riley could find, she realized that she was in China.

"So there's an entire damn solar system hidden within a pocket dimension in China? Well shit..." Kurama muttered.

Riley made a face and turned her gaze back down to the water. This lake was rather large, being nearly a mile across, and was almost completely circular. Using her Byakugan, she extended her gaze down into the lake, back to the barrier of obsidian that contained the world she had just come from. She allowed her gaze to travel across the outer edge of the barrier, tracing it's exterior. She found that it was slightly curved, forming a bulge that extended the entire length of the bottom of the lake, though with her eyes she was able to see that the full extent of the obsidian's reach was greater than the perimeter of the lake.

The obsidian barrier almost seemed to form a dome, which Riley speculated actually formed a large sphere which contained this pocket dimension.

The existence of such a pocket dimension surprised her, but that it could exist, did not. Riley's Kamui dimension was contained within her eye, and as far as she could tell, had no limits to its size. So having a solar system sized pocket dimension, contained within a several mile wide sphere was not at all impossible. It was simply taking her ability with Kamui, to a greater extreme.

A question formed in her mind. Who had created this pocket dimension? Such a strange occurrence was not natural, and it wasn't like it was some sort of hidden continent, like the Elemental Nations. This was an entire world, a star, a solar system with other planets, all contained within a barrier that was only a few miles wide.

While Riley hadn't investigated the other worlds within the solar system, nor had she gotten close to the nearby star that provided it light, she could speculate based on how small the world she had been on was, and how small the solar system was, that all of the worlds within it, and even the star were incredibly and unnaturally small. Almost like it was a miniature of a normal solar system with worlds that were thousands of miles across, instead of tens of thousands.

The solar system itself wasn't nearly as large as their own, as Riley hadn't really been flying all that fast, even moving at around light speed, she'd reached the outer extent of the solar system in about five minutes, which meant that the total size of this solar system couldn't be more than two AU across. In other words, it was small. A structure similar in size to the pocket dimensions that Kaguya had created long ago. Places Riley knew about but hadn't visited.

She took the opportunity to take one last look at the expanse of the barrier, noting something interesting about it's full appearance. She had to extend her gaze deep underground as the full expanse of the obsidian dome was larger than the circumference of the lake, but from what she could tell, at the edges of the dome, it sort of fanned out, and upon closer examination she noticed that it wasn't perfectly circular either, it was more of an oval. In her mind, this obsidian barrier almost looked like the top of a turtle shell.

"What do you suppose that means?" Kurama wondered as he too saw the similarities.

"I have no idea." Riley thought back as she shook her head. For a few moments she was silent, she then took one last look around before using the Hiraishin to teleport back to Gaia and Yugito.

Both women were just standing around, quietly waiting for her. Her sudden reappearance, right next to Gaia earned a curious look from the Kazekage.

"Alright, so I figured out where we are. We're in a pocket dimension, contained within some sort of large oblong sphere of what looks like obsidian. It's a pocket dimension with it's own internal star, planets, and all sorts of stuff like that. Also it's located somewhere in China." Riley explained, earning dumbfoundment from the two of them.

"Are you serious?" Yugito asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah." Riley replied.

"You do realize that what you just said is a little on the crazy side, right?" Gaia noted.

"I mean I guess it is. I'm just telling you what I was able to determine by just flying around." Riley replied, earning a sigh from Gaia.

"You know you're very lucky that I've seen enough crazy in my life to believe something like that is possible." Gaia said after a moment.

"Yeah I know what you mean. This place is saturated in magic, whoever made this pocket dimension must have been incredibly powerful because this place seems like it was scratch built. As in someone made it themselves, not that they chose to hide it away." Riley stated, scratching her head as she did.

"Who could have possibly built an entire solar system and hidden it in a pocket dimension?" Yugito asked, still trying to wrap her head around something like that existing.

"Something incredibly powerful. Perhaps some sort of ancient god of some sort. Whatever it was that did this, it's definitely older than the Tailed Beasts, because Kurama doesn't know what did it." Riley responded.

"Does the Darkness?" Gaia asked, knowing that the Darkness had been around longer than the Earth.

Riley was silent for a moment before folding her arms and closing her eyes.

"That's a good question. Do you know anything about this?" Riley questioned her demonic child.

The Darkness was silent for a few moments before it gave a reply.

"In the annals of the ancient past, long before great-grandmother came to the Earth, there once was a great war between demons and gods. Dark entities sought the world for it's power and they attacked it, they were repelled by the gods, and the great spirits of the Earth. One such sect of spirits was the Annun-k'dat. They were a race of giants. Great lumbering beasts that drifted through the skies and seas. Their powers were vast, and they were worshiped by mankind as gods. When the war broke out between spirits and demons, the Annun-k'dat, allowed the humans who worshiped them to live upon their bodies so that they may escape the war. For their act of benevolence, our kind assaulted them with relentless ferocity and slaughtered most of their race. What you found was nothing more than a fossil, once belonging to the old gods." The Darkness relayed, showing her images, of an ancient and bloody war fought between demons and earth-bound spirits of nature. She even saw glimpses of these Annun-k'dat, through the perspective of the Darkness.

Great and powerful they most certainly were. These creatures were giants. They almost looked like a cross between a turtle and a lion. They were absolutely massive creatures, with bodies that could be upwards to several kilometers across. They had lion-like heads, limbs, and tails, encased within massive turtle shells. The shell she had discovered, was indeed a fossil. Nothing more than a remnant of a dead god, used as an anchor for this pocket dimension. Though that still begged the question, who had built the pocket dimension? She directed the question as her child, curious to hear if it knew more.

"One day the Annun-k'dat simply vanished. They had suffered vast casualties in the war, and near it's end they simply disappeared. I do believe we've located their hiding spot. Or at least, what was once their hiding spot. Most likely it is now nothing more than a tomb." The Darkness answered.

It was left unspoken, but Riley knew well enough that her child had most likely participated in this war, all those tens of thousands of years ago. That was how it knew so much, as Riley could vaguely recall snippets of a war like the one it described from when the two had first met and had glimpsed into each other's memories.

Now Riley knew she was definitely interested in this dimension. What had once been a hideaway used by an ancient race of spirits to hide from demonic invasion, and it could now be nothing more than a grave marker, for the world to know that this species had existed, at least at one point. The idea that the Earth had been invaded by such a demonic force before, also interested her. Either the demons got what they wanted, or their leader was killed and the demonic force turned on itself and lost interest in the Earth. Such a time truly was an Age of Magic and Gods.

"Riley?" Gaia inquired, taking note of her silence.

"The Darkness says that it may have been ancient gods who built this place as a hideaway. Something about a war fought over ten thousands years ago." Riley answered, earning a nod from Gaia, while Yugito seemed a bit confused.

"Who's the Darkness?" She inquired.

"One of my full demon children. It's older than the Earth." Riley answered simply. Yugito stared at her for several long moments before blinking a few times and shaking her head as she wrapped her mind around that.

"So… now that we know where we are, how do we go about finding our missing children?" Gaia inquired.

"Hmm… I guess we just start advancing. Every time I've done this before, I was set on a path to already finding the child in question. So I assume some of the hard work is already done. Also with how small this world is, it shouldn't be nearly as hard to locate a half demon, even if their power is suppressed, they'll still be a lot stronger than most normal people." Riley answered as she extended her senses, and looked for the stronger magical concentration nearby.

"Found it." She said with a smile, as she located a possible individual. "A strong power is coming from the west of here, only a few miles away. Why don't we go and see who it is."

"Lead the way." Gaia replied, as the three headed off.

As they ran, Riley reviewed what she knew about the area from what was taken from the squad that had attacked them.

They were in the Eastern part of the Earth Kingdom. The men who had attacked them were members of the Fire Nation, and the Fire Nation was at war with the Earth Kingdom. Another interesting tidbit was that the reason 'Earthbending' was a crime, was because each of the four nations were separated by culture, but also by which type of magical elemental ability they possessed. Those in the Fire Nation could manipulate and generate fire. Those in the Earth Kingdom could move and manipulate the ground beneath their feet, and so on and so on.

So essentially, if you had a certain set of skills, that could mark your homeland, relatively definitively, which is why those soldiers attacked them, believing Gaia to not only be a local, but an enemy combatant due to her sand manipulation giving them the impression that she was an Earthbender.

The idea of their bending ability was in and of itself an interesting concept. She'd need to see how it was accomplished by benders of other elements, but from what she could tell, at least with Firebending, was that it was very similar to Fire Elemental Magic. The creation, and manipulation of fire was basically shot for shot, the same as it's Elemental magic counterpart, the only main difference, that made bending stand out, was that the body was the focus.

In magic there were two primary needs. Power and focus. What kind of power and where it came from often determined the type of magic used, same with the focus. Witches and Wizards drew magic from their cores and used wands as foci, while Shinobi drew magic from their coils or Chakra points, and their focus was hand signs. In the end it was all still magic, it was just their method of using it that altered their perceived abilities.

These benders appeared to draw their power from their cores, and used their entire bodies as focuses. At least what she could tell from Firebending, the use of it appeared to be tied to body movements and the flow of energy within a person's body.

The only aspect that was curious to her was the nature of how these 'bending' abilities seemed to only correlate to one elemental affinity. While genetic elemental affinity was a documented occurrence in the magical world, if your parents were a certain element then you would likely have that element, there were still aberrations where a child would have an elemental affinity that didn't correlate to their parents or even grandparents. It just happened sometimes. Not here in the bending nations it seemed. If your parents were firebenders, then if you were a bender too, then you'd be a firebender.

Benders couldn't learn to bend other arts. The only person who could was an individual who was known as the 'Avatar'. Aside from the Avatar, everyone else was stuck in their own lane, as it were.

"The only reason why their magic would be so constricted to one elemental affinity and no others, would be if they were in fact Elementals." Kurama noted.

"That's a very good point. Elementals are cemented to the element for which they are born too. Their powers within that element are vast but beyond it, they are almost unable to perform even basic magical abilities. These are human elementals. Crossbreeds in a way." Riley thought back as they ran.

The three found themselves in a forest moving rapidly through the trees. They were closing in on the powerful signature that could very well be one of Riley's children.

The sun had already set but the three were undeterred as they rapidly closed in on their target. They eventually came upon a road and found it heavily upturned, almost as if a horde of giant animals had ripped through the area.

Racing through the tree along the path, they quickly came upon an interesting sight. A young girl racing down the road, using the earth itself to enhance her speed. Large domes of earth rose up beneath her feet, acting in a way that allowed her to accelerate herself down the road at decent speeds, much faster than a human could run at least. The trio shared a look as they raced after her, Riley leaping from the tree and gliding down towards the young girl to open a dialogue.

Riley quickly caught up to her and floated down in front of the young woman, expecting her to stop upon seeing her, but the girl didn't react. She couldn't be older than twelve or so. She had black hair, and pale, sea foam green eyes, that were glazed over. Her lack of reaction to Riley's appearance immediately clued in the demoness that the girl was blind and couldn't see her.

"Someone with your genes, blind? That's a bit of a surprise." Kurama noted, while Riley flew in front of the young girl, keeping pace with her and maintaining a few feet in front of the racing girl.

For several moments, Riley examined the girl, taking in her features and her outfit. After several moments she smiled and decided to speak.

"Hello there." Riley greeted, loud enough for the girl to hear.

"Gah!" The girl let out a cry of fright and came to a sudden halt. "Who said that?" She asked.

Riley watched her reaction with a curious look. It seemed like she was listening for the response as was to be expected.

"Sorry to startle you." Riley greeted, still hovering right in front of the young girl. She made a face at Riley's voice and her eyes seemingly narrowed.

"Are you floating?" The girl asked.

Riley raised an eyebrow at that, and then a smirk touched at her lips. Slowly she lowered down until her feet touched the ground. The instant they did, the girl focused directly on her.

"Your sensory abilities are quite refined. You can detect vibrations in the ground, through the soles of your feet, it appears. Impressive." Riley noted, smiling as she did. From the tree on either side of the road, Gaia and Yugito stood, watching over the exchange.

"Uh… thanks. Can I help you? Cuz if not, I've got places to be." The girl replied after a quiet moment.

"My name is Riley. You seem to be in possession of one of my feathers." Riley noted, taking note of the black feather, tucked into her green wrist bracers.

The girl made a face at that, her hand drifting over to the feather in her bracer. She ran her hand over it, and then narrowed her eyes at Riley.

"Who are you?" The girl demanded.

"I'm the one who gave it to you." Riley answered, her wings erupting from her back. The sudden action was enough for the girl to feel what happened. Riley took note that despite being blind, the girl could clearly tell that Riley had just sprouted wings.

"It's more than just vibration sensing. It's like she has her own form of sonar or echolocation." Riley thought to herself.

"You gave me this feather? When was this? I'd think I'd remember a woman with wings." The girl responded, her attitude strong, and fiery. She was direct and focused, strong-willed just like her mothers.

"When you were very little. I gave it to you so that I'd always be able to track you down if you were ever lost. It took me a while, but I eventually managed to track you down. As I said, my Name is Riley, Riley Uchiwa. You are my daughter." Riley answered the young girl, who stared back at her blankly. For a moment she was quiet. Riley awaited her reaction, not really knowing what to expect. After several long seconds the girl let out a sigh.

"Normally I can tell when people are lying, but you sound all weird on the inside. If I'm really your child, then why was I with the Beifongs?" The girl asked in response, folding her arms over her chest.

"One of your sisters has the ability to open portals to other times and places. When you were very little, you and your siblings were attacked. It was an accident of her powers that led your sister to sending you here. That's why you were with the people that raised you. I'm curious though, you seemed to already know that they weren't your real parents." Riley answered, openly noting how it was curious that the girl, despite still being young, was already aware that something was up. She wouldn't have been the first of her siblings to suspect the truth, but still it was curious, especially because she was blind.

"Like I said before, I'm good at knowing when someone is lying. They've been lying to me since I could first remember. Always lying, always talking down to me. They think I'm just this fragile little girl who can't look out for herself. They've got it in their heads that they're saving me, protecting me, that I'd be dead if not for them. I can tell when they're telling the truth, and when they're lying, and when it comes to me being their child, I know that's a lie. The question is, how do I know you're telling the truth? I don't know you." The girl replied, her tone hard, and despite her lack of sight, her gaze was piercing and cold.

"Heh, she reminds me of grandfather Madara, or Great-Uncle Tobirama." Riley thought to herself with a smirk.

"You're very wise for your age. I have some ways of proving it, though perhaps you'll feel the connection between the feather you hold, and me." Riley answered, reaching her hand out. The young girl was still gently fiddling with the feather with her finger with it began to pull free from her bracer and float towards Riley.

She quickly reached out and snatched it in the air, luckily managing to grab it, despite not being able to see where it was. As she held it in her closed fist, Riley reached taking the smaller girl's hand in her own. She tensed at the contact, and started to pull away, but stopped when she felt a warmth spread through her hand.

It was a comfortable warmth, like a gentle hug, something the young girl rarely had the chance to experience in her life. Slowly Riley rotated her closed fist till the palm was facing upward. Using her free hand, to gently open her daughter's fist. The moment she did, the young girl felt a warm heat pass over her, almost like the warmth of a comforting fire.

She couldn't see it, but she could tell that the feather was reacting, almost like it had been lit on fire. For a moment she didn't understand, when Riley suddenly released her and the heat retreated and the cool air of the night replaced it.

She was quiet as she ran her fingers over the feather, it was unburned, and felt warm to the touch as it always had. She was confused and didn't quite understand what had happened. After several long moments she placed the feather back in her wrist bracer and focused her attention back onto Riley.

"Well that's never happened before. Let's say I'm willing to hear you out, what other proof do you have?" The girl inquired, earning a smirk from Riley.

"Hmm… well now, I could describe how your appearance is a stark combination of mine and your mother's. Or how your attitude reminds me a lot of your great-grandfather. I could tell you about how your extrasensory ability seems to be an improvement on the sensory abilities of your grandfather and great-granduncle. Though perhaps allowing you to meet your other mother, will help prove my words as the truth." Riley replied, earning a confused look from the girl as she motioned for Gaia and Yugito to hop down from the forest.

"I have two moms?" The girl inquired.

"Yep. And to answer your next question, I'm not human. You're only half human, which you get from the mother that birthed you. Your other half came from me." Riley explained.

The girl stood there in silence for several moments before scratching the back of her head and then shaking it as she tried to grasp what that could possibly mean.

"So this is one of your children?" Yugito noted as she eyed the girl.

"Yep, mine and Gaia's I do believe." Riley replied, sharing a glance with Gaia as she did.

"She looks like you Riley. Pale, dark hair, she holds herself like you do." Gaia noted.

"Like you too, my love. She has your eyes, and you and I hold ourselves in similar ways." Riley responded with a chuckle.

"Wait, you have eyes like mine?" The girl asked, still having not given her name.

"Our coloring is the same, though I'm not blind. I'm honestly surprised that any of Riley's children could lack in that particular sense, considering her lineage if well known for their ocular abilities. Has your sight always been this way, or is this the cause of an injury?" Gaia inquired curiously.

"Uh, it's always been like this. At least as far as I can remember." The girl shrugged, turning her gaze towards the new voice.

"I see. What do you think caused it?" Gaia inquired, glancing at Riley.

"Not sure. If you'd like I can see if I can correct whatever caused you to go blind." Riley responded, her offer earned a look of surprise from the girl.

"Wait you can?!" The girl replied with surprise.

"Maybe. I mean I have to know what's causing your blindness first, but I'm very skilled at healing, so I should hopefully be able to manage." Riley replied with a smirk. "If you'd like I can at least see what's wrong?"

The girl was quiet for a moment as she seemed to think on the offer, after a moment she offered a nod, curious to see what Riley would say.

Riley stepped up to the young girl and placed her hand over her eyes. Using healing magics she began to do a scan of her eyes and ocular nerves to try and discern what the issue was. While she was carrying out her work, the girl shifted as she felt a familiar warmth pass into her. It felt almost exactly like the warmth from the feather. It was a familiar feeling, something that had been a constant in her life for as long as she could remember. She was still skeptical, but she was now a bit closer to believing that Riley was telling the truth.

"There's nothing wrong with your eyes." Riley stated aloud after several moments.

"Other than that they don't work?" The girl replied with just the right amount of snark.

"No they work, just not like regular eyes. Or I should say, not like human eyes. Your eyes aren't missing the ability to see, they simply never could. And that's because your eyes are a mutation of sorts. Allow me to show you..." Riley explained as she reached out with her magic, passing it into the girl's body, using it to grab hold of the girl's magic and guide it to her eyes, passing it deliberately through the magical pathways that clustered tightly around her eyes.

The girl could obviously feel her own energy moving in a strange way, and tensed up.

"What are you…?" She began only to let out a grunt of pain before gasping as something amazing happened.

From what had once been complete darkness, figures exploded into view. While terrain itself remained black, a bluish energy washed out over everything like a light mist, wrapping around rocks, floating over the ground, moving around trees, she could clearly make out these objects contrasted by the blue fog.

Standing before her was three figures. All three had human outlines, the two that stood further back, one being her birth mother, had dense blue pathways of energy lining their bodies, stemming from where the heart would be. At their heart's was a large and dense glow of this blue energy, and very near to the heart, was a very different kind of energy. In her mother, it was a sickly yellow coloring, and as dense as stone, and within the other woman, it was a darker blue, with black specks in it. Both of these strange colorings made her nervous.

It was Riley's shape that drew the most confusion and fright. She lacked in the pathways that the other two possessed. Instead her entire form seemed to be comprised of dense dark energy. Energy that was almost purely black. The only coloring it had was a fiery red that burned near where the heart would be, otherwise Riley's entire form was black.

"She possesses the Byakugan." Gaia noted, seeing the veins emerging around the girl's eyes.

"How does she have the Byakugan?" Yugito inquired curiously.

"Riley has it." Gaia answered, glancing at her companion.

"Oh. I didn't know that." Yugito admitted.

"I don't rely on it for combat, and I only use it for taking a look around if need be. With that being said I actually have another reason why I don't use it, I'll explain it to you later." Riley stated, earning a nod of understanding from Yugito.

"This is so weird..." The girl muttered as she felt her vision begin to drift. The sensation was a completely foreign one as her sight seemed to advance and then move in different directions, despite her body remaining unmoving and her with her facing forward. It got to the point where she was looking somewhere to the right, in the forest, despite having not moved.

The feeling of her sight drifting, seemingly on it's own, was enough to make her dizzy and she started to teeter.

Riley let out a chuckle and cut off the magic flowing to her daughter's eyes, and used her hands to steady the young girl.

The intensity she'd been feeling in her eyes, quickly vanished when Riley removed her hand. And with the vanishing intensity, her sight went with it, everything returning to nothingness.

"Wow… that was crazy." The girl muttered as she rubbed at her eyes.

"That was the power of the Byakugan. If you would like I can show you how to control that power, and use it to your advantage." Riley offered.

"Hmm… I might take you up on that. Alright, let's say I believe you, you said you weren't human, so what are you?" The girl inquired.

"I'm a demon. I believe around here you'd call me a spirit." Riley answered.

"You're a spirit? That means I'm a half spirit? What does that mean?" The girl inquired.

"It means you're stronger than a normal human. Your powers are greater, your abilities more vast. You aren't constrained like the people around you. Unlike these Elementals, you are free to walk your own path." Riley replied.

"Huh… alright… I think I wanna know more so why don't you follow me back to Ba Sing Se. We can go to where I'm staying and talk more there and I can introduce you to my friends." The girl offered after a moment.

"Sure, I think we'd like that." Riley responded, earning nods from her mates.

"Alright then. Follow me, and try to keep up. Oh, and by the way, the name's Toph." Toph said to them.

"Toph. Alright, as I said my name is Riley." Riley replied.

"Yugito." Yugito offered.

"Gaia." Gaia added.

Toph took a moment, memorizing the three names, especially the names of her mothers. After a few moments she nodded and raced off, the three quickly following behind her.

The four made their way to the walls of the city as the sun began to rise. They were less than a mile from the edges of it, when a strange sight fell from the sky. A large, six legged mammal floated down from the sky. It looked like a bison, though it had the flat tail of a manatee. It was covered in white fur and had a saddle on it's back. In the saddle sat two young men.

The creature drifted down next to Toph as she raced forward, unaware of it's presence, she continued onward. One of the boys called out, asking if she needed a lift. Toph let out a startled cry and lost her balance flipping onto the ground, both boys cringing as she hit the ground hard.

Toph let out a grunt of annoyance and pulled herself to her feet as the large creature landed nearby.

"Toph, quick hop on, we have to go. Katara's in danger!" One of the boys shouted to her.

Toph stared back for a moment before nodding and turning her attention to Riley, Gaia, and Yugito.

"Looks like there's gonna be a change of plans. I've gotta go help my friends. Can you guys just wait around here until I get back?" Toph asked.

"Do you need help?" Riley inquired.

"Nah, I'm sure I can handle whatever trouble my friend's gotten into. You are looking at the greatest Earthbender in the world after all." Toph replied with a smirk, brushing off their concern.

"When should we expect you back?" Gaia asked.

"By no later than tonight. I'll come find you guys, and we can keep talking. For now I've got to go." Toph replied, as she turned back to her friends and used her earthbending to leap up onto the bison's back.

Riley and her partners stared after her as Toph and her companions took to the skies and flew over the towering walls of Ba Sing Se.

"Should we follow them?" Yugito inquired.

"I've got her in my senses. If she's not back by tonight, we'll go see what's up. For now, let's let her handle it. After all, we're supposed to be bonding, and she seems like the prideful type. Best to watch from a distance and give the illusion of separation." Riley responded to her question.

"Coming from you, that's unnerving." Gaia noted, earning a smirk from Riley.

"Am I ever not there, Gaia? That is the question. Are you ever truly alone? I mean, not counting the bat shit crazy raccoon-dog." Riley inquired in reply, earning a shake of the head from Gaia, who showed her annoyance.

"The sun just came up. If we're going to wait until nightfall before acting, perhaps it's best that you explain to us what you know of these lands. I know you took in the souls of those soldiers I killed, and also perhaps you should fill Yugito in on more of your abilities. She knows what you are but maybe explaining a bit more about what you can do will help with any confusion. While that's going on, I'm going to rest. You did drag me on this adventure without a full night's sleep after all." Gaia suggested, earning a nod from both Yugito and Riley.

From there, Riley quickly built a makeshift shelter using Earth and Wood style. Something small and inconspicuous, so they could get out of the sun.

The three spent the day discussing what Riley knew. That this world was embroiled in war, that it was basically the Fire Nation versus everyone else, and that they'd already taken out the Air Nomads. Riley explained how the magic of these people seemed to work. That they were a type of magical being called an Elemental, and could only use magic of their given element, or magic with no element. The magical people here called themselves benders,and used body movements in the form of martial arts, to manipulate the elements.

The only outlier was a being called the Avatar, which was a unique individual with the power to use the four elements of Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth.

Toph was an Earthbender, though she wasn't an Elemental like the rest of these people, she simply had a powerful Earth affinity, and was thus able to learn the skill as they had developed it. At least from what Riley could tell. Though in truth, Toph's magic showed that she had two elemental bases that she had received from Gaia, namely Earth and Wind. So it was curious to see if she could learn Airbending as well. Considering they were all dead now, perhaps the art was simply lost, then again, the Avatar was supposedly an Airbender, so perhaps it was possible.

While they discussed, Riley kept her senses open for any demonic presence nearby that could be Yugito's child. She couldn't sense anything right away, though there was a significant darkness coming from the heart of the giant City of Ba Sing Se, though that was to be expected from a city that large. After reconvening with Toph and getting their bearings, the trio could start their search for the second missing child.

Once Riley had filled them in on everything she knew and suspected, Gaia went and took a nap, leaving Riley and Yugito to discuss some of what Riley could actually do, thanks to her demonic powers. Such as her ability to take in the souls of people she killed, which was how she knew so much in general.

The two kept up their discussion all day, and had Gaia rejoin them several hours later when she awoke.

Eventually nightfall came again, and the three set up outside, waiting for any sight of Toph.

An hour went by and they were about to head into the city to start searching for her, when the sight of the large white bison caught their eyes. It was heading out of the city as fast as it could fly. Riley could sense desperation, fear, and despair ebbing off of the people on the bison's back.

Riley shared a glance with her mates, and noted that something was wrong.

In response Gaia gathered together a platform of sand and commanded the other two to hop onto it. She then joined them and used it as a platform to fly up to the bison.

Once they got close, Riley hopped off the platform and onto the saddle.

"You guys alright?" Riley inquired.

"Who are you?" Came the question from a man, the only adult of the group.

"You're the lady who was with Toph from this morning, how did you get up here?" Came the question from one of the two boys from earlier in the day.

"I knew you could float. Hey can you help my friend?" Toph asked.

Riley stared back at her for a moment then glanced over to see a young woman cradling the other boy from earlier. He seemed injured, and wasn't responsive.

Riley moved over to the two, and knelt next to the girl. She glanced up at Riley and for a moment there was suspicion in her gaze, but it quickly retreated when she locked eyes with Riley, and found herself almost hypnotized by the Rinne Sharingan.

"Toph who is this?" The older of the two boys asked.

"She's someone we can trust, and Aang needs help." Toph replied.

"Allow me." Riley offered.

"You're a healer?" The girl asked.

"I know a bit. What happened to him?" Riley asked.

"He was struck by lightning. I think it stopped his heart. I tried to heal him with spirit water, but he still won't wake up." The girl replied, earning a nod from Riley as she repositioned herself and placed her hand over the boy's back.

The girl watched as glowing green energy flowed from Riley's hand into the boy's back.

Riley was quiet as she ran a diagnostic on the boy's injuries.

"Who did this to him?" Riley inquired as she felt something unusual coming from the wound.

"Azula. The Princess of the Fire Nation." The girl replied, malice entering her voice as she did.

"Princess of the Fire Nation. That's interesting. You must be the other, princess Azula." Riley thought to herself as she felt the twisted demonic energy that churned within the wound, keeping it from healing and tainting it. The spirit water that was used on it, seemed to have diluted the darkness considerably, but it was still there, and it would continue to taint the wound unless it was purified.

Riley placed her hand onto the injury, using her powers to draw upon the darkness within the wound. Static jumped from the boy's flesh and into her palm as she slowly pulled away, drawing out the power within the wound and clearing the corruption. Everyone watched as she did this, silent as the bison flew through the skies.

It took several seconds to accomplish the delicate task, but finally the wound was cleared of corruption.

"There. He should respond to healing now. His wound was corrupted by dark energy. I've removed it." Riley explained to the girl. She offered a nod at that and hugged the boy to her.

Riley slowly turned her gaze over to Gaia and Yugito, both still flying beside the bison.

"We may have a bit of a problem." Riley sent through her mental link to Gaia.

"The look on your face says as much. Let's figure out what's going on and see how we can help." Gaia replied.

Riley nodded at that, and began to ask about what had happened. In the back of her mind though, she knew she'd just ended up in the middle of a headache of a situation. One daughter fought with the Avatar, and one fought for the Fire Nation. This was gonna be interesting, if nothing else.

For now though, Riley would keep the identity of the second child constrained to her and her mates. Best not to let that information out until they had a game plan.

In the meantime, they would stick with Toph and her friends, and see what they could do to help them. It seemed like she would need a lot more help than the other daughter would. Or at the very least, her situation was far more perilous.

A short while later, they arrived at a small camp where members of the Water Tribe were returning from a raid against the Fire Nation. During their trip, Riley and her mates learned the names of their new companions. There was Brother and Sister, Sokka and Katara, the king of the Earth Kingdom Kuei, whom the group had rescued. And finally the injured boy was actually the Avatar, the last Airbender, named Aang.

While Toph and her friends were in low spirits, they were quick to accept Riley, Gaia, and Yugito thanks to Riley's help in healing Aang. While they traveled, they got the story of what happened after Toph had left them.

The Fire Nation Prince and Princess had orchestrated some sort of coup with the secret police of Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li. With the capital of the Earth kingdom now taken, the Fire Nation had effectively won the war.

Now they were arriving at a camp where Sokka and Katara's father led a small force of Water tribe soldiers. With any luck, they would find some help there.

After arriving and meeting with the Water tribe soldiers, Katara set to work on healing Aang's remaining injuries. The wound had almost completely vanished, save for an ugly round scar in the center of his back. Thankfully it seemed the boy was no longer in danger, but he hadn't yet awoken, and after a quick check from Riley, she surmised that he had very nearly died from that attack. He had essentially come as close to death as a person could without fully crossing over.

His life functions had begun to shut down, and he was essentially heading out the door, but thankfully, the special spirit water that Katara had used to heal him, managed to restore life functions.

Knowing this, it didn't surprise Riley that he hadn't awoken yet, and she even told his friends that it may be several days before he did awaken. Coming that close to death was not something easily recovered from.

While they remained worried for him, they were at least thankful that he was still alive. For the moment, Toph hadn't told her friends who Riley claimed to be, and just kept it that the three were new friends she had met.

That was fine with Riley, Gaia, and Yugito. For now they had more important things to worry about.

By morning the following day, Fire Nation ships began to enter the lake, so Sokka and Katara's father, Hakoda, came up with a plan to capture a Fire Nation vessel and use it to slip out of sight. Riley, Gaia, and Yugito offered their services to the operation and after a quick showing of their speed and stealth, Hakoda saw no reason not to accept their assistance.

That night, they scuttled the Water Tribe vessels and successfully captured a Fire Nation patrol ship. With a means to escape, they now made a break for it, concealing Aang and his flying Bison Oppa, within the ship's hull.

Not long after taking the ship, Riley pulled her mates aside and explained to them her suspicion that the one who had delivered the near lethal strike to Aang, was a half-demon, and was most likely her and Yugito's daughter. The Fire Nation princess, Azula.

Both women shared thoughtful looks with one another but agreed that the chances that it was another half-demon who had done it was simply too slim, especially on a planet this small. More than likely, Riley was correct. Which meant that they were now stuck in the center of a hundred year long war.

On one side, was a daughter fighting with her friends against tyranny, and on the other was a daughter, elevated to the role of princess, who was fighting to conquer the world. Needless to say, they would have to proceed very carefully.

For now they would work with Toph, and begin investigating Azula. If Riley was correct then a plan would be needed to get into contact with her. For now though, she was in far less danger than Toph was, so it was agreed by the three to help her and her friends get to safety and use that time to figure out what they were going to do.

So with that in mind, the three settled in with their new companions. For the foreseeable future, everyone would simply be cautious around one another until they had escaped the Fire Nation. So that gave Riley's group some time to plan out a course of action. So that's what they did. Kept their heads low, and drew upon their roots. All three were kunoichi after all, so it was time to bleed into the background, watch, and listen.

-TwoWeeks Later-

The Fire Nation prince, Zuko sat quietly by a pond in the gardens of the royal palace. He was deep in thought reflecting on his actions that had led him to this moment.

He had betrayed his uncle, an action that still stung at him. Even now he didn't know if his betrayal had been worth it. His father had yet to see him, and with each passing moment his trepidation at their eventual meeting grew.

Would his father accept him? Would he judge him unworthy since he had returned without the Avatar?

These thoughts swirled in Zuko's mind and it left him uneasy.

"What's got you so down? Mai seems to be rubbing off on you." Came the mocking tone of his younger sister.

"What do you want?" Zuko asked with a tired sigh, knowing full well that her presence here wasn't going to be a comforting one.

"I just came to check on you. You seemed kind of downtrodden and moody, well more than normal. After everything that happened I figured you'd be happy to finally be home." Azula responded, folding her arms over her chest as she did.

"I am happy. It's just... I don't understand why father hasn't seen me yet. What if he doesn't accept me back?" Zuko responded, turning his gaze up to her.

Azula let out an annoyed sigh and shook her head. "Look Zuzu, the Avatar is dead and together we brought down the Earth Kingdom. If father doesn't accept you back then I guess you were simply doomed from the start. No need to get so fussy about it. Whatever happens will happen. Personally I think you're just freaking out over nothing. Father has no reason not to accept you back. That is... unless you know something that I don't."

"What are you getting at?" Zuko asked, sending a suspicious gaze her way.

"Oh nothing. It's like I said before. With the Avatar dead, father has no reason not to accept you back. Unless of course you believe there's a reason he could have survived." Azula responded, returning his suspicious look with a curious one.

Zuko was quiet for a moment as he recalled the Avatar's friend from the Water Tribe telling him about special healing water she had taken from the North pole. There was a possibility that she had used that water to save the Avatar, but Zuko wasn't about to tell Azula that.

"No. It's impossible. There's no way he survived." Zuko replied. His response earned a nod from Azula. One that showed that she was letting the question drop, but it didn't reveal if she believed him or not.

Zuko sat quietly for a moment as Azula turned her attention towards the approaching form of her two friends, Mai and Ty-Lee.

"Wow! This place hasn't changed a bit!" Ty-Lee stated cheerfully as she reached Azula.

"Yeah still as dreary as always." Mai agreed.

"What are you guys chatting about?" Ty Lee inquired.

"Not much, Zuko's just pouting." Azula responded with a smirk.

"I am not pouting." Zuko growled out sending a glare his sister's way, his actions only serving to amuse her.

The four quietly chatted with one another for several minutes when a royal guard approached them. The guard seemed to be watching over a servant woman. It was the woman who spoke when the four turned to face them.

"A thousand apologies for interrupting you princess but... well... he's upset. I think he wants to see you." The servant woman explained, her eyes on the ground and her tone submissive.

Azula stood in silence for a moment staring back at the woman while her friends and brother glanced at her, all three wondering who 'He' was.

After several seconds, Azula let out a sigh and then shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess I have little choice in the matter. Come you three, there is something I want to show you." Azula commanded her sibling and friends as she began advancing in the direction the servant and guard had come from.

The three followed after her, curious to see what she intended to show them.

They made their way deep into the palace, winding through hallways and past dozens of servants and guards. Eventually they made it to a rather secluded section of the palace that was surprisingly under heavy guard, from the elite royal guard.

Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee, all took note of the heavy guard presence, and it was Zuko who voiced his curiosity.

"Why are there so many guards here?" He asked.

"They're protecting someone, dummy." Azula replied with a snort of amusement, earning one from Ty Lee as well.

"That's not what I meant. These aren't royal chambers, what are royal guards doing here in such numbers?" Zuko clarified, glaring at the back of his sister's head as he did.

"They're doing their job. Come, best not to keep him waiting." Azula replied.

Once again, things were being kept ambiguous. It certainly wasn't the Fire Lord they were going to see, she wouldn't have invited Mai and Ty Lee if that was the case, so then who was it?

The four passed into a heavily guarded chamber, following beside the servant woman and her guard.

They arrived in a rather cozy room, fancily decorated, and fit for royalty. There, in the center of the room was a crib.

Upon seeing it, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee all froze, and their jaws fell open.

Azula glanced back at them and smirked at their gawking.

"Come on Zuzu. Don't you want to meet your baby brother?" Azula inquired in that innocent way of hers, that always meant trouble.

Zuko stood there, dumbfounded, as he heard the soft whining of a baby.

The servant who had sought them out was already over at the crib, she reached into it and removed a swaddled infant from it.

"Oh my goodness he's adorable!" Ty Lee stated cheerfully at the sight of the baby. The Servant nervously approached Azula and offered her the baby. For a half second Azula regarded the child with a curious look before accepting him.

She held the baby in her arms, showing an uncharacteristic gentleness as Ty Lee approached her to get a better look at the baby.

Zuko slowly began to follow, crossing the room until he was by his sister's side, staring down at his newborn baby brother.

He almost couldn't believe it. His father had found a new wife, or a concubine, regardless, he had a new sibling. The baby couldn't be more than six months old. He had night black hair, similar to the Fire Lord's and golden eyes, that actually reminded him of Azula's eyes.

He definitely had the looks of a member of the family and much to his surprise, the babe seemed comforted by Azula's presence. He no longer seemed to fuss about, and wasn't making noise. Instead he was just staring up at her with those big golden eyes.

Furthering his surprise, Azula simply stared back as she gently swayed back and forth, as if attempting to rock him to sleep.

It was definitely unlike her, but then again, not even Azula could be so cruel as to terrorize a baby.

Despite his surprise, Zuko couldn't help but smile at the child. He had a little brother, one he didn't even know about.

"What's his name?" Zuko asked.

"Shakik Azulong." Azula replied with a smirk, taking pride in the powerful name. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Zuko.

Now he was certain he was seeing a side of his sister he'd never seen before. The child was named after their grandfather Azulon, which wasn't really a surprise, though Shakik Azulong sounded more like a title than a name. It was most definitely powerful, but Azula seemingly enjoyed it, instead of rolling her eyes at it, which was something that confused him.

Azula was quick to turn her attention to Ty Lee, as her friend began to ask all sorts of questions about the baby. Zuko was more than happy to listen in, and take the time to memorize his newborn sibling. It took a moment, but he realized that there was something missing. He slowly glanced around until his eyes fell onto Mai, who still stood by the entrance.

To Zuko's surprise, he found that Mai looked sick to her stomach. Revulsion was plain to see on her face. For a half second, Zuko wanted to chuckle at that, knowing full well that she didn't like children, but then he remembered something he'd heard on the trip back from the Earth Kingdom. Mai had a baby brother. She shouldn't find the presence of a baby so mortifying.

Remembering that, he took notice of the fact that her visible disgust wasn't meant to be an overreaction or a typical Mai-ism. She was genuinely disgusted by something she was seeing.

Zuko didn't understand. He followed her gaze towards Azula and the baby, then turned back to Mai, then back to Azula and the baby. It took several moments, but Mai seemed to slowly come out of her state and her eyes met with Zuko's. Surprise reflected in them, and she immediately diverted her head, turning away from the sight and taking a deep breath.

It was apparent that she was attempting to try and repair the mask that she always wore, a cold mask of indifference, making it seem like nothing could bother her. But whatever she was experiencing had shaken her to her core.

Zuko allowed his confusion to show, as she returned her gaze to his. She met his eyes, and for the briefest moment, he could see realization flash within hers, as if she understood something in that moment. Then he saw pity, it was only there for a moment, but he knew that it was definitely pity. Mai didn't pity anyone, but in that moment, she pitied him. Because she knew something that he didn't.

He turned his gaze back to Azula and the baby, wondering what about the sight could make Mai react like this. He didn't see it, if anything, this was the most genuine he'd ever seen Azula. If he didn't know her as well as he did, he'd say she even looked motherly, with the way she held the baby in her arms and gently bounced him, trying to put him to sleep.

It was at that thought though, that he had to wonder, who was the mother, and where was she? Why wasn't she here to look after the baby?

Zuko didn't know the answer. He half caught as Ty Lee asked that very same question, and Azula simply shrugged and waved off her question, claiming that the mother was 'no one to overly concern yourself with.' and that where she was now was 'unimportant.'

It was at that moment that Zuko felt a chill run up his spine from out of nowhere. The tone of Azula's voice. It was typical for her, and she was a liar by nature. She was lying right now. Zuko focused his gaze onto the baby's face, but found that he couldn't find anything that stood out, there was no woman he could remember from the palace that matched the baby's features. The baby looked just like his father, just like him and Azula.

Slowly Mai made her way over and stood by his side. Her face, a cold mask of indifference, her mask firmly reset.

"You alright?" Zuko asked.

"Fine." Mai replied coolly.

Zuko stared at her for a few more moments before turning his gaze back to his newborn brother. Something was going on here, something that Mai either knew or suspected. What it was, he wasn't sure, but he knew he'd have to figure it out. A sinking feeling in his gut though, told him he wasn't going to like the answer.

For now though, he'd simply enjoy the time to spend with his newborn sibling, the war was over, and he was home. It was time to make the best of it.

**-To Be Continued-**

_**Alright, hope you all enjoyed, just so we're clear, the Avatar Arc is actually gonna be a longer one than most of the Child rescues. More is going on than just canon avatar. I think you all know who the children are, but are your guesses correct? Well now that is an interesting question. We'll just have to see. Big shoutout to **__**Kilare T'suna**__** for coming up with the idea for Shakik, he's been a big help in offering up ideas, and I'm most thankful.**_

_**Beyond that, have a great day and until next time, Ja Ne!**_


End file.
